


■ 









■ 



■ 
■ 



■ 



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m. 





Qas&JIft 7(»fo 
Book TltZ . 



PICTURES IN TYROL 



AM- 



AND ELSEWHERE. 



FROM A FAMILY SKETCH-BOOK 



BY THE AUTHOR OF 

A VOYAGE EN ZIGZAG 
&c. 




De omnibus rebus et quibvsdam aliis. 



SECOISTD EXJITIOtT. 



LONDON : 

LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 
1869. 



a.^ovo^ 



lfB7<>k 




"HalUtodl 



PICTURES IN TYROL 



&c. 



LONDON: PRINTED BY 

SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE 

AND PARLIAMENT STREET 



PKEFACE. 



"I FANY HEADERS may possibly find in these pages 
-^*- something to remind them of old holidays, and 
wanderings of their own amongst the hills, or be led 
to see for themselves what pleasant hannts are to be 
fonnd in Tyrol, or what mountains are yet to be scaled, 
and for such, these histories of very small adventures, 
pictures of busy and i still life,' will stir the old sympa- 
thies and memories that make for many of us so pleasant 
a cordon round the Alps. 

Two of the following papers have already appeared in 
a magazine from which they are reprinted by the kind 
permission of the Editor. 

Those on the Ortler and Viso districts and the Sulden- 
thal were originally written for the Alpine Journal, with 
many additional topographical and scientific details, which 
have been omitted here, and with their present illustra- 
tions, they are now given to the public in a slightly 
more popular form. 

November 1867. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAP. PAGE 
I. . . . BREAKING THE ICE, OR MOUNTAINEERING IN AN 

OMNIBUS 1 

II. . . . NOTES ON THE PASSAGE OF THE OLE WEISSTHOR, WITH 

THE ASCENT OE THE SIGNALKUPPE ... 53 

III. . . . SKETCHES FROM BERCHTESGADEN AND THE ZILLER- 

THAL 75 

IV. ... A NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT OF MONTE VISO . .113 

V. . . . SKETCHES FROM PONTRESINA 129 

VI. . . . A NIGHT ADVENTURE IN THE SULDENTHAL . . 159 

VII. . . . ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS 179 

VIII. . . . EXCURSIONS AMONG THE ORTLER AND LOMBARD ALPS . 217 

IX. ... A TALE OF THE ROAD . . . . . 207 

X. . . . APPENDIX 301 



LIST 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Hallstadt See Frontispiece 

Charing Cross. ' Ou est le Havresac ? ' A Submarine Telegraph to face p. 4 

' En Voiture ! ' Basle. On the Bridge „ 6 

Pigs and Peasants. Our Gruard. Sketches from the Train . „ 8 
The Amalekite at Ease. Pictures for Sale. At the Pump . „ 10 
Schaffhausen Falls. The Philistines. Schweizer Hof . . „ 11 
The Kellnerin. The Landlord, Boiling the Water. Hindelang „ 1 6 
At the Frontier. 'P'titLait.' Schattwald . . . . „ 20 

Lermos ....,, 24 

"Wayside Sketches. N/assereit ,,29 

Telfs „ 30 

The Chariot Waits ! Priestly Intercession . . . . ,,32 
Sketches from the Eailway. Chateau Fratzburg . . . „ 43 

The Wirthin. The Waidring Kitchen 46 

A Kace on a Frosty Morning „ 48 

St. Johann „ 50 

Keeonnoitring. 5.45 a.m. Veils and Masks „ 58 

G-rinding steadily upwards. ' Otium cum Dignitate ' . „ 64 



X 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Pounding the Snow. Bennen takes to the Rocks 

The Last Three Minutes. Science and Shivers 

Down again ! Excelsior! 

The Watzmann from Berchtesgaden 

The Brautfest .... 

Berchtesgaden .... 

In the Dairy. Buttercups and Daisies 

Drying our Clothes. A Rough Road 

Our Trough. A Bergwagen . 

Music in the Ziller-Thal. 

To the Karlsteg .... 

In the Ziller-Thal. Changing Horses 

A Mountain Toilette. Strichmacher ! 

Science under Difficulties. Costumes for the Night 

2 a.m. 28-4° Fahrenheit. 3 a.m. Still Colder . 

Caoutchouc versus Snow. 6 a.m. Science in Despair 

Our ' Schlittenpartie ! ' . 

On the Glacier. A Bergwagen 

Excelsior! In the Snowdrifts 

Lunching on the Spitze 

How we came down 

Conjuring in the Stube. A Spy 

The Soldiers Force an Entrance. Discovery of Arms ! 

The "Women all side with the Prisoners. The Frontier 
little dangerous ...... 

Ischl from the Goldenes Kreuz .... 

Ischl and the Empress's Villa. In the Meadows . 

Ein Seefahrt. Our Rowers ..... 

Hallstadt 



looks 





PAGE 


to face 65 


,. 


6fi 


„ 


70 


„ 


80 


,, 


85 


„ 


87 


„ 


91 


)> 


96 


„ 


100 


„ 


101 


>} 


104 


!> 


108 


>) 


110 


>» 


124 


>> 


126 


,, 


127 


„ 


141 


„ 


143 


)) 


154 


,, 


155 


>> 


156 


„ 


162 


„ 


166 



167 

185 
191 
194 
195 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



XI 



The Konigs-See. The Falls of the Trauii 

At Ischl. A Study 

Die Heilige Jungfrau. A Procession 

Costumes at the Fest. Guards from the Saltworks 

Keturning from the Fest. ' Im Schatten ' 

At the Pump. The Natives see the last of us 

Alpine Photography. Coming to Grief .... 

Building a Cairn. A lazy Day at Santa Catarina .' 

Val Forno from Santa Catarina ..... 

Disintegrated Pocks. A warm "Welcome from Frau Ortler 

Watching for the Mountaineers. A Skirmish for Provisions 

They descend in Triumph. Great Applause . 

Mosquitoes. The Enemy rallies to the Charge 

Carrying down Lemons. Mentone .... 

Standing at Bay. Oneglia. Defying the Military 

Fifteen Miles an Hour . 

Albergo Eeale. Genoa. On the Koad again . 



toft 



PAGE 

i 201 
207 
208 
209 
210 
212 
230 
236 
237 
242 
248 
256 
280 
281 
294 
297 
298 



BREAKING THE ICE 



MOUNTAINEEKING IN AN OMNIBUS. 



' Peregrinations charm our senses with such unspeakable and sweet 
variety, that some count him unhappy that never travelled.' 

BrRTON. 



BREAKING THE ICE, 



MOUNTAINEERING IN AN OMNIBUS. 



TYfE left England early in May 1866, hoping to escape 
' * the cold winds that still lingered about our English 
spring, and to find the lower Alps in all their fresh beauty, 
never to be so keenly enjoyed as at the moment when the 
latest fallen snow seemingly melts away in an hour's sun- 
shine, and changes, as by a magic touch, into flowers and 
greenness. The mornings and evenings are still clear and 
frosty, but when the sun is out, the midday warmth makes 
a pleasant atmosphere for travelling comfort ; and as a 
rule, in spring, amongst the mountains, you find a climate 
that is quite perfect in its adaptation to your needs. Un- 
fortunately for us, there was something wrong with the 
calendar on this particular spring we had chosen ; the 
winter still held everything in a strong grasp, and we 
had a hard battle with keen winds and frost before our 
patience and the cold weather came to an end together. 

Our party was composed of sufficiently divers elements 

.-• 

B 



4 BREAKING THE ICE, OR 

to afford constant variety under the most dismal circum- 
stances, so that we were, never reduced to a dead level 
mentally, and were fully prepared to find plenty of en- 
joyment from all the mingled delights that Nature and 
Art, queer costumes, patois, unknown food, springless car- 
riages, and constant variety promised us, and endless 
amusement from anything of discomfort or misadventure 
that would have to be greeted with either groanings or 
laughter. 

A very blessed gift is that same power of appreciating 
the ridiculous aspect of every situation; natures, with the 
lights and shades of their varied characteristics put in in 
tolerably strong colours, are the pleasant est to do with, 
and a keen sense of the ludicrous is generally balanced 
by a sympathy and large-heartedness, none the less true 
because somewhat deep and still. We may value neutral 
tints in a landscape, but in a life such vague shadows only 
serve as a foil to richer colouring, and such a use of one's 
fellow-creatures is too dismal to be encouraged by the 
most confirmed misanthrope. There was nothing vague 
about our party : thoroughly fortunate in our companions, 
our enjoyment in everything was as keen as possible, and 
from the oldest to the youngest traveller, we set out with 
the knowledge that in our journey we were to take, daily 
and hourly, that ' step ' from the 6 sublime to the ridi- 
culous,' which makes travelling such an inexhaustible 
pleasure. 




Cka-rmg Gross . A Family p^hy . Mts C *l DAntc*-* <}re»n(*a^fbL/r 

Cl3 fTOLVS-'ilTlg COTnpJTllOTIi . 




A satrrKXTmi teifcoTctjan. I 



MOUNTAINEERING IN AN OMNIBUS. 5 

Our stay in Paris was not to F. a season of uninter- 
rupted repose. A particularly precious knapsack, carefully 
packed with especial valuables for the mountains, had 
been registered with the rest of our luggage at Charing 
Cross, and the officials of the Gave du Novel declared it 
was not to be found; a second journey. to the station, and 
yet a third, proved equally fruitless, though there was a 
rumour that such a knapsack had been seen by some one 
on the pier at Dover, and that, if not appropriated mean- 
while, it might come by the tidal train ; we had to start 
for Basle in faith, trusting that a promised telegram would 
somehow bring it after us. The twelve hours to Basle 
were less wearying than usual, and we recalled, with 
thankfulness as to the present, many gloomy memories of 
heat and dust and discomfort in a long July or August 
day on the same road. As it was, we read, chatted, 
and talked, puzzled our brains over acrostics, sketched 
people at the railway stations, and consumed a midday 
meal at Troyes; after which we all went to sleep, and 
woke up gladly to feel ourselves in Switzerland once 
more. 

Throughout our many wanderings we have always 
been fortunate in small things, and found, as we moved 
over our circumscribed part of the earth, that it never 
grated on its axis, and the loss of that knapsack was a 
terrible blow to our self-conceit ; and we were brought 
pitiably low by a further discovery, on our arrival at Basle, 

B 2 



6 BREAKING THE ICE, OR 

where we took up our quarters at the 'Black Bear,' 
wishing to get rid of civilisation and the s Trois Eois ' to- 
gether, and where we found a pleasant welcome and clean 
boarded rooms, primitive-looking bedchambers with rather 
sloping floors, built regardless of architectural laws or 
symmetry, each room being made up of angles, and having 
no two sides alike. However, like Samson's lion, our bear 
contained many good things, and we were just sitting 
down to an Abendessen of coffee and tea, honey, venison, 
and trout, when F. entered the salle, and, amidst an 
ominous silence, related disaster number two. He had 
just inspected his portmanteau, and discovered a case of 
spontaneous combustion. A large tin filled with vesuvians, 
intended for his own delectation and that of his friends, 
had come to grief; the contents had gone off — literally 
blown themselves up, and words fail to describe the un- 
utterably nasty state in which everything near them was 
found, whether linen or literature. 

Misfortune seemed to dog our footsteps, and it was 
with an effort that we rallied our courage; but, recol- 
lecting that it was highly reprehensible on F.'s part to 
travel with such things at all, we all told him so, some 
of the party adding valuable remarks as to the undesirable 
habit of smoking in which the young men of the present 
day indulge ; after which we felt better, and were able to 
attack the trout. There was just time after breakfast 
the next morning to visit the bridge ; the old town looked 




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fey 



MOUNTAINEERING IN AN OMNIBUS. 7 

very lovely in the bright sunshine, the river, in its swift 
steady flow, seemed the most lifelike thing about the 
place, and in its dreamy apathetic quiet all the vitality of 
Basle might have been washed down in that strong tide. 
The steep-roofed houses looked out with brown and white 
and pink faces amongst the trees ; great rafts of timber 
and light boats floated down the stream ; quaint-costumed 
peasants passed us on their way to market, driving carts 
drawn by a horse and a little cow, or by sturdy oxen ; 
and women were at work washing linen in wooden-roofed 
barges moored to the shore, rinsing and soaking moist 
masses in the water, as the green waves swirled with a 
great rush against the planks. 

Three or four hours by rail brought us to Schaffhausen, 
a very slow train affording endless studies of the country- 
people who thronged the little stations. At one of these 
we watched with much amusement a procession of men 
and women, laden with sacks, who had just descended 
from a third-class compartment; as they passed us, carrying 
their burdens on their shoulders, on their backs, or in their 
arms, each sack struggled and squeaked and wriggled in 
the most ridiculous way, and w T e thought pigs and peasants 
had all rather a hard time of it ; little children on their 
way to school carried knapsacks strapped to their shoulders 
with the lesson-books of the day; and every traveller, male 
or female, was armed with a large coloured cotton um- 
brella. For the greater part of the way we journeyed by 



8 BREAKING THE ICE, OR 

the river, passing many picturesque old towns and villages, 
the country looking most lovely with bright spring foli- 
age shining against the dark background of the forest, 
Sehivarz Wald in reality as well as in name. The fields 
were one mass of flowers, and the fruit trees were just 
bursting into blossom ; here and there men were making 
hay in the fields ; there was a freshness and lightness in 
the air that was very pleasant, and a delicious sense of 
coming summer. 

At night we slept at the hotel above the Falls of 
Schaffhausen, feeling a little as though it were all a 
dream. We were evidently the first arrivals of the season, 
and the great empty house looked rather dreary. Some- 
body must be ' the first arrival ' everywhere, so we made 
the best of it; and surely the most crabbed of mortals 
might well have been content, as, looking from the open 
window, the whole wonderful scene burst upon the 
view ; the great green river, falling in one mighty mass 
over the rocks, lashing itself into a white fury, as it 
plunged and roared and struggled down the rapids, and 
then lying panting and still for a moment before it 
swept away again behind the hills. We saw it in a 
setting of softest tints of golden green from the wooded 
slopes and the garden beneath us, where a great Judas- 
tree threw its purple blossoms across the flow ot the 
emerald water. 

In the morning we ran down to the shore, and were 




fceltlm fram Hit trairu. 



MOUNTAINEERING IN AN OMNIBUS. 9 

paddled in a long unwieldy boat to the opposite side, 
passing just near enough to the eddies to feel the faster 
rush of the water. We walked up through the woods, 
the Philistine belonging to our barge signalling an 
Amalekite with a prolonged whistle, who took us in 
charge, and marshalled us into a number of little galleries 
hanging over the water, and built out into the foam, 
across which a lovely rainbow had flung the glory of its 
colouring. 

In the sunlight every bubble that burst upon the 
crest of the waves was irridescent and brilliant as a 
diamond, and deep down under the whiteness were shades 
of emerald and lilac and dark soft green, flecked and 
rippled with spray. The Amalekite rested near by, keep- 
ing us well within sight, but too accustomed to the scene 
and the appropriate emotions of the British traveller to 
be keenly observant of either. The roar was deafening, 
as the water dashed under the rotten old planks and 
flung a shower of foam over the gallery, drenching us in a 
moment if we ventured to the end, till, mazed and giddy, 
we were glad to retreat, and mount still higher into the 
queerly-decorated rooms of the chateau above. It had 
been a veritable chateau once, boasting all the dignity of 
age, and would be well in keeping with the scene, had not 
Philistines and Amalekites, and the other inhabitants of 
the land, hewers of wood and drawers of water, carvers 
and painters of the nineteenth century, combined to make 



10 BREAKING THE ICE, OB 

a stand there, and to prey upon the harmless stranger ; 
for which end you are led through odd little cabinets, 
containing very bad studies in oil, and large collections 01 
carvings in bone and wood and ivory, until, with a sigh 
of relief, you reach the courtyard and find a genuine 
antique gateway and an old pump, and so wander round 
to the bridge above the Falls, from which you look down 
upon the river just making up its mind to the inevi- 
table leap. 

There was enough frost in the air to make a good fire 
in the stove pleasant on our return, and as we gathered 
round the lamp in the little salon lingering over our tea, 
it was difficult to believe that we were only three or four 
days out of England ; our pleasant wandering life seemed 
to have been going on for months, and we had already 
reached a quiet atmosphere in which people speculated 
dimly as to the chances of war. Count Bismark grew to 
be little more than a myth, and we subsided to the level 
of the agricultural population around us, peasants and 
cows being about equally unconcerned as to the balance 
of power in Europe. 

A steam down the Lake of Constance brought us to 
Lindau, where we landed amidst a crowd of natives 
waiting to welcome old King Ludwig. The pretty little 
town was alive with people ; there were flags flying, and 
green wreaths everywhere. A steamer, with its rigging 
brilliant with coloured buntings, puffed up to the pier, and 




K\ lUTumf 



MOUNTAINEEKING IN AN OMNIBUS. 11 

his Majesty landed — a cheery, kindly-looking old man, 
bowing and smiling as the eager spectators opened a 
path for him — and walked to the station, where a mag- 
nificent high-and-mighty, in blue and silver, Konigliche- 
Baiern beadle mounted guard. The lake was lying still, 
and glimmering in the sunshine; the old towers and 
houses, black-roofed and high-peaked and picturesque, 
rose dark against the clear sky; the Lion of Bavaria, 
couched on its pillar, turned its placid face towards the 
water ; and about its base pressed the kind welcoming 
people, and we eagerly scanned the sunburnt faces 
seeking for a Grrindelwalder — the brave, sturdy, faithful, 
Christian Aimer — who was to join us there, and give his 
good services for some mountaineering during the next 
few weeks. 

Only two nights lay between us and Paris. A few 
hours in train and steamboat, and we had entered on a 
new life, as completely strange, un-English, unspoilt as to 
luxury, unhacknied as to rules and conventionalities, as 
any wayworn atom of civilisation could desire — even a 
little more so than was quite pleasant, in the matter of 
blankets and other mundane comforts. The Great City — 
that Kosmos of M. Victor Hugo, absorbing entire humanity 
into itself, according to the poet's utterances — rested in- 
finitely far-off in an ideal atmosphere of its own. It is 
said that 'good Americans when they die go to Paris;' 
and leaving it to such faithful worshippers, 'sons of the 



12 BREAKING THE ICE, OR 

soil/ and Transatlantic visitors, we were well content, 
though somewhat shivering, to dwell beyond its borders 
in a dim land — a limbo, if need were, M. Victor Hugo 
insisting on his fancy as to the world in general — full of 
great mountains and everlasting snow, simple natures, 
great quiet beasts, grass and flowers, and giant glaciers, 
Stelhvagen, cows and fresh milk — innocent of the latteries 
of the Pre Catalan and the bergeres of the Bois-de- 
Boulogne. 

Heavy rain came on, as our train slowly puffed and 
panted on its wa}^ and with the rain a cold wind that 
made us shiver; and, worse than all, it began dimly to 
dawn on us that spring was two or three weeks behind its 
time here as well as in England, and that the Bavarian 
highlands and the accommodation they afforded were 
not exactly adapted to an inclement season. We did our 
best to believe we had not made a mistake, and to have 
faith each day in warmth for the morrow ; but until we 
reached Ischl, nine days later, the prospect was not a 
brilliant one. 

At Immenstadt we found a rather dirty little inn, but 
managed to secure some food, and then started, in two of 
the queerest shandrydan carriages, for a ten-mile drive to 
Hindelang. We passed through a broad valley rich in 
beautiful scenery, which we could enjoy even without the 
sunshine and in spite of the clouds, which did their best 
to hide everything but the road, as they came down 



MOUNTAINEERING IN AN OMNIBUS. 13 

almost on the roof of the carriage. A great deal of fresh 
snow must have fallen in the night, and the low hills and 
pine-woods were thickly covered. We were glad when, 
after due rattling of springs and boards (windows there 
were none), our shaking vehicles drew up before an old 
wayside inn, which, however, looked anything but pro- 
mising. The rain was coming down heavier than ever, 
and our last sight of the outer world showed us a stray 
cloudlet that had ventured so low that it had actually got 
caught in the shelter of a gable, where it hung, looking 
rather ashamed of itself, and sighing for breath enough to 
blow itself off again. 

The whole situation was so deplorable that it was neces- 
sary for each member of the party to make an effort, and 
rise to the occasion, which was nobly done ; and leaving 
the gentlemen to settle with the Kutscher, we rallied round 
Mrs. C. as a forlorn hope, and set out on an exploring ex- 
pedition. These great country inns throughout Germany, 
Tyrol, and the Engadine, are all on the same pattern: 
strongly built of stone or brick and often very large, they 
wander over a great extent of land, the ground-floor 
being devoted to kitchens, an entrance-hall with a wooden 
table and benches for the peasants, and a Stube adjoining, 
which answers to the bar of our public-houses. Making 
our way to the staircase, we mounted to a long, broad 
landing, or upper hall, with a vaulted roof and walls, all 
whitewashed alike ; the floors were clean, but very bare 



14 BREAKING THE ICE, OR 

and cold, and dark heavy doors led into the chambers. A 
Kellnevin explained to us that ' the Wivthin was out, and 
that the Damen must understand that the Wivthin be- 
stirred herself in everything ; consequently, when she was 
not there, it was simply chaos. Would the Damen kindly 
believe this, and adapt themselves to circumstances ? 
There was a room': — pointing to an apartment with five 
large windows, a long table with eighteen chairs ranged 
around it, a big black stove, and two wooden boxes con- 
taining striped duvets in their respective corners, — 'There 
were six travellers? Would not the Damen consider 
there was space enough for the entire party? They 
preferred several rooms ? certainly they should have them 
then, but truly the chamber was very spacious ! ' 

Appropriating the barrack to Mrs. C. and D. for the 
night, and arranging it as the salle a manger for the 
moment, E. and C. took possession of an adjoining apart- 
ment — the gentlemen being installed in rooms on the 
other side of the landing. A fire was ordered in the 
barrack stove, and we implored the people to give us 
some food as quickly as possible. But as we could see no 
signs of bed or nourishment, we sent for the landlord, and 
entreated him to make the servants hurry themselves. 
He was a large apathetic man, who echoed the Kellneriri's 
words : 

'The Wivthin is away; the Wivthin sees to everything ; 
without the Wivthin nothing can be done. She has all 



MOUNTAINEERING IN AN OMNIBUS. 15 

the keys ; but, patience ! she may return to-night, unless 
indeed she remains away till to-morrow.' 

'But at least give us some food; tea and bread and 
meat you must have. We cannot starve because there 
happens to be no Wirthin ! ' 

' Will the Damen graciously understand that there is 
no tea? There was some in a paper that a traveller left 
with us, but it is in a cupboard which is locked, and the 
Wirthin has the key, as I before explained to the Herr- 
schaft; also there is no teapot, which gnddige Frauen 
would in itself be a difficulty ; but, patience — patience ! 
may be the Wirthin will return, and then the Damen 
shall see ! ' 

Utterly in despair, we took matters into our own hands. 
E. unpacked a small teapot, real Britannia-metal, her 
especial pride ; Mrs. C. hunted out a packet of tea and 
some potted meat from the portmanteau ; and then, with 
Christian's assistance, fetched some hot water from the 
kitchen below, which was boiled in a pan over a wood- 
fire, and dipped out with a ladle. Meanwhile a woman 
was induced to prepare some coffee and eggs, and slowly, 
and with many journeyings, a sufficient 'spread' was pro- 
vided ; and we all gathered round the long table, and made 
ourselves very merry over our improvised supper. While 
we were feasting, the Kellnerin entered to arrange the 
beds and hunt up washing-basins, carrying on a frag- 
mentary conversation with us at the same time ; her task 



16 



was nearly accomplished when one of the wooden boxes 
gave way, or at least its bottom came out, and the bed 
disappeared on one side ; so with an exclamation of despair, 
after puzzling at it in vain, she hurried away, returning 
with a deaf old Oberland peasant, who had been busy 
carting manure in the yard. Their united efforts restored 
order, but our attention had been meanwhile attracted, 
and we noticed, with some dismay, that the bed-making 
consisted in spreading one coarse sheet on the mattrass, 
and placing a duvet over it. It was freezing hard, and 
we were stiff with cold and damp, and rather rheumatic. 
' Where were the blankets ? ' 

6 Ach Himmel! they had no blankets; there were the 
beautiful duvets — what more could we want ? There was 
not a blanket in the house ; but when the Wirthin returned, 
ah ! then indeed she would see to everything.' 

The long room, and the long table, and the eighteen 
chairs looked so unutterably melancholy when the feast 
was over, that we had to dance in . self-defence, while D. 
played on a cracked old clavier that had been discovered 
in E. and C.'s room ; and our father entertained a crowd 
of guides aud peasants with a display of coloured lights 
and magnesium-wire, and warmed himself at the kitchen- 
fire. The gentlemen fared but badly during the night, 
but F. is impervious to cold, and one railway rug was 
attainable, while the ladies entrenched themselves beneath 
dresses and duvets. 



MOUNTAINEERING IN AN OMNIBUS. 17 

Wonderful fun we had, if but little comfort. We care- 
fully examined all our doors, and fastened them as well as 
we could, to guard against extra draughts, or sudden gusts 
of wind. Mrs. C. discovered a vast unfurnished apartment . 
beyond E. and C.'s, which seemed to have been shut up 
through the winter, judging from the stuffiness of the at- 
mosphere ; and she returned announcing that it contained 
nothing but an unpleasant smell ! In fact, we had the 
whole hotel to ourselves, so we barricaded that door also, 
and then laughed till we were warm over the utter desola- 
tion of our rooms, and in the strength of that momentary 
glow prepared to go to rest — such rest as it was. The 
duvets were small and slippery, and if we pulled them up 
to our chins our feet were bare ; if we covered our feet our 
shoulders were shivering, and we realised the unpleasant 
sensation of cold water being incessantly poured down our 
back. If one curled oneself into a ball, the duvet tumbled 
off altogether, and of course it inevitably did so if we were 
ever fortunate enough to fall asleep. But the longest 
night must have an end ; morning came, and brought the 
Wirtkin ; and after a capital breakfast — which we had to 
collect for ourselves piecemeal, as at supper, and which 
was amusing enough in the display of crockery, no two 
cups being alike — we felt equal to encountering the vicissi- 
tudes of another day, and started at eight for Keutte, 
driving in the carriages of the previous evening. 

The cold was intense, with an east wind that would 



18 BREAKING THE ICE, OR 

have done Mr. Kingsley's heart good, but which was any- 
thing but cheering to ours, and we were glad to walk to 
warm ourselves whenever we had the excuse of a hill. 
The gleams of sunshine made the distant mountains very 
beautiful, and the flowers were exquisite — gentians, cowslip 
and ox slip, and little soldanellas starring the grass with 
their bright colours. At the frontier the gentlemen and 
Mrs. C. descended to show their passports to two worthy 
greatcoated Austrian officials, and then we rested for an 
hour at a little wayside inn, eating bread and cheese, and 
gossiping with the old Wirthin and her sweet-faced 
daughter, who seated herself at our side, talking quietly of 
the little interests of their daily life, and smiling placidly 
while we sketched her. It was such a good womanly 
face, full of gentle modesty, and the placid content these 
peasants seemed to have learned from the patient beasts 
they spend their lives in tending, an ox-eyed Juno, grown 
a thought less queenly from much milking of the kine. 
Our fair-faced model had a sweeter if a lowlier name — 
Filomena ; and she wrote it, with a shy pleasure in her 
own performance, under the little sketch, and then flinging 
herself, in a sudden rush of confidence, upon E., hurried 
her away from the little salon, with most persuasive 
eloquence : 

6 Come, dear Frdulein, and see the house, and our dairy ; 
there is good cheese and butter, and the mother will be so 
proud to show it you.' 



MOUNTAINEERING IN AN OMNIBUS. 19 

We all followed, picking our way carefully across the 
somewhat dirty floor of an old stable, and reaching a clean 
cool room, where were many vessels ranged in order, filled 
with delicious milk, and a goodly store of cheeses in long- 
rows. The old woman laughed with delight at our plea- 
sure in it all, as we seized a tin bowl and dipped up some 
of the ir $?tit laiV from the great boiler on the fire, scalding 
our mouths in attempts to drink it. 

Then a cellar had to be visited, full of wood stacked in 
the corners, at one end of which was a tiny room, and a 
loom where Filomena spent many an hour weaving house- 
hold linen, and singing like a bird that loved its cage, and 
knew it was still home for her, however poor and bent 
and old the bars might be. We had quite a little tender 
parting with these dear souls, and then a long drive to 
Lermos, where we were to sleep. 

For part of the way the road made a rapid descent, 
bounded on one side by high rocks, amongst the crevices 
of which mosses and grass were springing wherever the 
earth could find a resting-place ; lichens stretching out 
little hands, and grasping the huge stones with loving te- 
nacity, working out slowly and patiently the great Creative 
will, preparing the tiny gardens where the spring flowers 
were to bloom later, and make the old hills beautiful with 
their sweetness. Even now there were blossoms shining 
in the grass, and as we ran down the hill there came a cry 
of delight from one and another as a fresh flower was 

c 



20 HBEAKING THE ICE, OR 

added to our store. A more adventurous climber would 
be rewarded by a bright spoil of blue gentian and golden- 
eyed cistus ; and in some shady corner, which the sun had 
not reached, there was still hanging a white fringe of 
icicles, which glittered for a moment amongst the flowers 
in our hands, and then trickled slowly away through 
stems and leaves, making them shiver a little doubtless, 
and leaving its traces in the pink finger tips that had 
rashly grasped them, and hands grown cold and rosy in 
the contact. 

A wall bounded the zigzags on our right, and far below 
there was a river dancing in the lightness of its heart — as 
only mountain rivers do — because they know all the little 
secrets of the hills, and are in such a terrible hurry to tell 
them to the sea. What gossips the Naiads must have been, 
and how dull they must have thought it to be swallowed 
by a great overgrown stream, who was only bent on doing 
its duty and going steadily on its way ! We found many 
villages lying near each other, large and prosperous, with 
saw-mills and ' fabrics.' 

At Eeutte we stopped between three and four o'clock, 
and while dinner was preparing, explored the curious 
little town, where the houses are all set cornerwise to the 
street, and are rich in coloured faces, pink and white and 
pale green, and have queer little plethoric shops, with 
bulged-out windows full of the strangest medley of goods, 
specimens of coloured glass that have wandered here from 




ffo laih: bcfiatfwalc 



MOUNTAINEERING IN AN OMNIBUS. 21 

Munich manufactories, pipes and rosaries, and crockery 
ware, useful and ornamental. There was a charming 
stork in blown glass, with a great expenditure of yellow 
paint on its bill, in which was firmly grasped a e kleines 
Kind," 1 swathed in an extremely tight and uncomfortable 
manner, but held with wonderful skill by the admirable 
bird, who, proud of his trust, balanced himself conceitedly 
on one leg and surveyed the world at his leisure. Of 
course we secured such an interesting illustration of the 
habits of the country ; but the bird had one disadvantage, 
he was undeniably brittle, and he and the baby were a 
great care during our journey, though we improvised a 
charming basinette among the frills in the border of Mrs. 
C.'s best bonnet, and had the proud satisfaction of bringing 
both nurse and infant in safety to England. 

For the next few days we lived upon veal, eggs, and 
milk, unmitigated KcdbsfLeisch, and eggs boiled and fried, 
in Omeletten and Pfannkiichen, and Mehlspeise, the din- 
ners beiug served for the most part in a most primitive 
manner, the supply of knives and forks, and clean plates, 
being very limited. A north-easter is a famous sauce 
piquante, and so we lived and flourished and enjoyed our 
calf, though it was not a fatted one. 

The shandrydan and the cabriolet, which had brought us 
thus far, were dismissed, and we started in two Postvjagen, 
with two gorgeous Herren Postillionen, and a nourish 
of trumpets, literal and metaphorical, each of our drivers 

c 2 



22 BREAKING THE ICE, OR 

being provided with a horn, suspended from his shoulder 
by a thick betasselled black and yellow cord. The road 
was a fine piece of Austrian engineering, winding by a 
gradual ascent round the hill side. We could see Eeutte 
far below us, and our track of the morning fading into the 
distance : on one side lay the most exquisitely green valley, 
and every turn disclosed another and yet another snow T y 
mountain gleaming in the light. The horses were fresh 
and up to their w r ork, and trotted on merrily to the music 
of the horns which the two men were playing; the drivers 
keeping time cleverly, with now and then an interlude of 
jodeling, the echoes making wild work with voice and music, 
and sending messages among the old mountains in a plea- 
sant state of excitement, for was not the season beginning, 
and were not the first travellers coming for a prey ? As the 
horses toiled up a steep ascent the men walked beside 
them, affording us an opportunity of studying them quietly. 
The leading driver was a very young man, well grown and 
looking picturesque enough in his quaint dress, but with 
the picturesqueness of an old album study, when young 
men were drawn with long limbs, gracefully encased in 
tight garments, w 7 ith smooth cheeks on which was the flush 
of youth and modesty, hair inclined to wave, with full- 
orbed eyes, large curling lips, rosy as the cheeks, and a 
nose somewhat long and drooping. Alas, for those days of 
propriety and delicate sentiment ! Nous avons change 
tout cela — beards and muscles, a good honest appetite and 



MOUNTAINEERING IN AN OMNIBUS. 23 

Balmoral boots have fairly extinguished them — our Pos- 
tillion was the only live specimen we had ever seen of ori- 
ginals that must sometime have existed. Above the road 
stood a very fine old ruined castle, perched on the summit 
of a grand cliff amidst masses of greenery, and an amphi- 
theatre of fir trees, tier above tier, swept away to our right, 
with distant white and blue hills filling up the picture. 
At a sudden turn a cry of astonishment broke from us ; a 
mountain rose out of the trees, one great sheet of snow, 
utterly white, and dazzling us by its exceeding brilliance, 
except here and there, where a faint grey shadow flitted 
across it from the light clouds floating overhead. It 
looked like a great Easter cake for the little angels, with 
almond rocks somewhere hidden away in its depths, which 
were to be melted in the sunshine. Were there not some 
rosy fingers growing out of that cloudlet as we looked, 
floating nearer, nearer, and longing to begin already ? 
Happy little angels ! that only care for cake in German 
picture-books, and even then are never impatient ; a snow 
mountain, beautiful and unearthly as it is, is too real for 
your i immortal wonderment.' But there is a fresh light 
upon the mountain, a pink flush, that makes it look, oh ! so 
nice, if only there was somebody to eat it. . It is more like 
a cake than ever, and it is such a very big one. Surely 
there are Dante's little spirits to fall back upon, who were 
so innocent and sweet, and whom he put into a mournful 
shadowy place, where the poor babies could do nothing but 



24 BREAKING THE ICE, OK 

sigh, and kept them far away from heaven because they 
had never been baptized ; which always made us unhappy 
as children, when we read the story, and could do nothing 
to help them. We will fancy them now dwelling in that 
cloud land, the 6 poor little innocents,' who would not be 
too good to eat the cake, and who would enjoy it so 
exceedingly because they had never had very much on 
earth. 

We met droves of goats and meek-faced ewes slowly 
wandering home from their pastures, or hurrying to quench 
their thirst at a village fountain, jumbled altogether in a 
queer mass of horns and impatient hoofs and frisking tails 
longer or shorter, in their eagerness to reach the water- 
trough. 

As the evening was closing in we reached Lermos, plea- 
santly weary after our long drive, and all the exceeding 
beauty which eyes and mind had been absorbing during 
the day. The hotel looked very unpromising, but profit- 
ing by our recent experience we did not judge too hastily, 
and when once the upper landing was reached matters 
began to improve. As before, there were the large rooms, 
but they were better furnished, and if there were no 
blankets, there were at least couvertures as well as duvets. 
A fire was quickly lit in one of the great stoves, built half 
into a corner wall, which was so thick that it had a cavern- 
ous depth of many feet, and piles of wood were heaped 
in and blazed and crackled, we watching them from the 



MOUNTAINEERING IN AN OMNIBUS. 25 

landing through, the small opening usually closed by an 
iron door, and enjoying the sight long before any warmth 
had penetrated the great pottery stove within the salon. 
The tea was a peripatetic meal, as just outside our win- 
dows rose the great Zugspitze in all the rose glow of a 
clear sunset, and we must perforce watch the light fading 
and the cold shadows creeping up its side, though the eggs 
were cooling, and the great bowls of warm milk were 
bubbling most enticingly. Another very cold night, spite 
of the large stoves, which, if your bed happens to be near 
them, suffocate you with heat for an hour or more, and 
then, as the wood burns low, a shiver creeps through the 
room, and there is only a sense of heaviness in the air to 
remind you of the departed warmth. The beds were nar- 
row, and the sheets were cut to their exact size, so that it 
was impossible to tuck them in anywhere, and the cover- 
ings being made on the same principle, it was difficult to 
make ourselves warm all over at once. 

We were roused at an early hour by the goatherd's horn, 
and watched from our windows the little beasts trotting up 
to the rendezvous, obedient to the call. In German and 
Swiss villages the same custom prevails ; two or three of the 
children are chosen as Gans- or Ziegen- or Kuh-General ; 
and armed with his long Alpine horn or whip, the little 
herdsman summons his flock, geese or goats or cows join- 
ing him the moment their stable doors are opened, and 
following him to the pastures, where they are allowed to 



26 BREAKING THE ICE, OR 

wander during the day. It is the prettiest sight in the 
world to see them returning at sunset ; each of the sen- 
sible creatures breaking away from the main body when 
the turning towards its home is reached, and trotting off 
to its owners. 

We left Lermos soon after eight o'clock, starting in 
bright sunshine which illuminated the little village, alive 
with people and cows, whose cheery bells filled the air 
with a pleasant music. This time we determined to try 
a new conveyance, and rejoiced in securing a large 
omnibus with windows at the side, behind, and in front, 
space enough for two besides the driver, and for our lug- 
gage on the roof. When people and things were stowed 
away, we felt rather like a band of strolling players, or as 
though we and our van were somehow dimly connected with 
a cheap-jack, or a merry-go-round. It certainly was an odd 
and unromantic conveyance for a journey among the moun- 
tains, but we found it eminently practical, and as it was 
impossible to procure anything like an ordinary close car- 
riage, and equally impossible to drive in an open one, we 
were thankful to secure our Stellivagen and four strong- 
horses, who carried us over the pass at a steady pace. It is 
so hopeless by any words to describe the exceeding love- 
liness of everything that surrounded us, that one hesitates 
to attempt a bad copy of a most perfect picture. Every 
inch of the way was a study in itself, of jewelled moss and 
fresh grass, dewy and sparkling, with soft heaps of brown 



MOUNTAINEERING IN AN OMNIBUS. 27 

twigs and ground-ivy, amongst which pansies raised their 
violet heads, and white flowers could nestle ; each stone 
was covered with grey or golden lichen creeping up to 
meet the tufts of bright green ferns, which seemed to 
spring out of the rocks ; little streams made a sweet bab- 
bling among the crevices and fell in delicious cascades over 
the bigger pebbles, and floated away leaves and twigs and 
broken stems till they disappeared in the great stream 
which flowed beside the road. The trees were in the full 
pride of their spring beauty, and the leaves were still too 
young to have grown dusty; the sun turned them all to 
gold, and cast long shadows across their stems and along 
the hill side, and the passing clouds made purple shades 
come and go, now 7 deepening now brightened, in the thick' 
boscage of the pines. The highest trees wore a light 
powdering of snow that became them mightily, and the 
hills were robed in fresh whiteness from a very recent 
shower. But all the snow having fallen and turned into 
beautiful white drapery for the old giants taller and 
shorter alike, the sky w T as left to its blue, the sunlight had 
everything its own way, and shone upon the little lakes, 
deep tarns embosomed in the trees flashing with purple, 
and blue, and emerald reflections of what earthly colour- 
ing who can tell ? 

At Nassereit, a picturesque little town, we descended 
into the prosaics of life, and while the horses were changed, 
w T e wandered through the winding street, making sketches 



28 BREAKING THE ICE, OR 

of the people, with a fine following of the gamins of the 
place, to whom, when they had surmounted their first 
awe, we evidently afforded the keenest amusement. There 
was an oriel window, rich in diamond-paned glass, break- 
ing the dead white surface of a wall, with women leaning 
out, and showing bright-tinted kerchiefs and boddices 
against the dark back-ground of the room within. From 
many a little casement heads young and old peeped out to 
watch our proceedings ; from one a shrivelled nut-cracker- 
faced old crone looked down upon us, a fit study for a 
Murillo, with her deep wrinkles, and sinewy arms folded 
lazily, a glorious bit of colour, from the deep orange folds 
of the cloth about her head to the brown skin and the fiery 
eyes, and one wandering old tooth which rested on the 
lower lip : a very uncanny old woman, who might have 
had a broomstick hidden under her bed ! Nevertheless, 
E. made a drawing of her, and held it up for inspection, 
and the poor old soul nodded approval, which made us 
charitably believe she might have a conscience ; and then 
we turned the old pump into a studio, but so many models 
offered, it was difficult to satisfy them all. One beautiful 
young peasant girl stood, with a pitcher balanced on her 
small well-shaped head, round which the dark hair was 
closely braided, her naked feet firmly planted on the 
ground, the careless grace of her attitude and her grave 
delight making a charming study. We distributed Zivan- 
zigers and little German books amongst the people, who 



MOUNTAINEERING IN AN OMNIBUS. 29 

eagerly received our small gospels, under the very eyes of 
their patron saint, who stood, wooden and stolid and very 
gorgeous in the matter of paint and gilding, watching over 
the consumption of water and the gossip of the town. 
What an amount of scandal that poor old worthy would 
have had to listen to, if he had been less hard of hearing 
— quarrels, love-making, merry chatter, sad and tender 
partings, all the chances and changes of this busy life, 
must have been chronicled in that spot; and the poor 
old image, very harmless in its way, held out its two 
stiff old ringers, with the paint somewhat worn about 
the joints, and blessed us all alike who passed beneath 
it. The pious fellow-townsfolk had erected a tin um- 
brella, in the form of a double tea-tray, to keep the rain- 
drops from its head, lest it should grow damp and cracky, 
and moulder away slowly, as others did who were but 
human. 

The frost that had made everything so beautiful for us, 
had done hard things for the poor cottagers ; and as we 
drove on we passed by many orchards, where they told us 
sadly the apple-blossom had been all destroyed. This 
next stage brought us to Ober-Miemingen, where we 
were to dine, and here even our calf failed -us. There was 
a Wirthin within, who was the embodiment of the slow- 
ness of the entire people. 

' Ah ! the Herrschaft are starving : that is grievous : but 
then, dear heaven, what would they have — Mehlspeise 



30 BREAKING THE ICE, OR 

assuredly ? It is not enough ? Then, what else is there ? 
Truly nothing, and I can but do my best.' 

i Some meat, madame,' we answered, ( in just fifteen 
little minutes — and fried potatoes and eggs, Ochsenaugen 
and cheese, and bread, and beer, or some coffee, and per- 
haps a salad ; but do not forget we are very hungry, and 
we must eat.' 

6 Ah, these Herrschaft — these travellers!' cried the 
Wirthin, ' it is wollen, and mussen, and im Augenblich 
It is ever so, ever ; but it is Freitag — there is no meat — 
the Herrschaft know it is a fast.' 

' But, madame ! ' we replied, ( we are Protestants 
and English, and very hungry, and, according to our 
religion, when we are hungry we are to eat. Dear 
madame, send some one to look for that little calf, for 
assuredly meat is a canon of our faith, and without it 
our nation cannot exist. Sauerkraut is a dish highly 
to be commended, but the English stomach is inca- 
pable of being nourished by it. Is there not a little 
calf?' 

Thus pressed on all sides, the good Wirthin gave way. 
If we were heretics, what did it matter ? But she must 
have said an extra Ave or two over her frying-pan, to ease 
her conscience, and thus delayed the cooking, judging 
from the length of time we had to wait. 

Once more in our omnibus, we journeyed to Telfs, where 
there were more picturesque houses and wooden saints, a 
great fountain, and a church tower, half spire, half dome, 



MOUNTAINEERING IN AN OMNIBUS. 31 

a great brown bulb swelling out above the stone-work, 
with a slender rod ending in a gilt cross. Large quantities 
of wood were piled up by the river, waiting to be carried 
down to the saltworks at Hall, and there was a churchyard 
full of quaint tombs, bas-reliefs, and rude frescoes. Chil- 
dren were playing amongst the graves, and the Telfs' 
chickens making themselves at home on the grass, whilst 
one old hen was drinking solemnly out of a small cup of 
holy water, which was sculptured in the stone. At Zirl 
our last omnibus was left behind, and, after a considerable 
amount of discussion and entreaty on the part of the 
gentlemen, a carriage was secured, and our luggage packed 
away somewhere about it, when the waiter announced to 
us that all was ready, and ushered us from the salle a 
manger, where we had been waiting, to the front-door. 
We seemed to have journeyed back two hundred years at 
the least, and to be living in some old-world story. Such 
a chariot was waiting for us ! A dim old stage-coach hung 
between high springs and joints, and bars of wood and 
iron, sometime gilt and gorgeous, with two small windows 
to the doors ; very warm and comfortable within still, 
and well-padded and soft, if ever so moth-eaten. We 
four ladies took our places with a gravity befitting the 
occasion ; the servitors placed their shoulders against the 
side of the vehicle, and heaved it up, and were thus enabled 
to close the door ; the gentlemen mounted into a cabriolet, 
and prepared to attend us, and slowly we were swung and 
rattled along towards Innsbruck. A lazy content settled 



32 BREAKING THE ICE, OH 

down upon our spirits, that pleasant weariness that comes 
so full of dreams. One thought of all the little romances 
that had lived and died within the shelter of our old coach 
— the sweet faces, the patches and ruffles, the powder 
shaken out of the fair curls, the little hands resting on the 
window, or making silent talk to some brave cavalier escort, 
while a grim old duenna of a Grdfin slumbered in the 
corner. One could almost smell the patchouli, and realise 
a dim presence there still. A sudden lunge of the chariot, 
a bump over a stone, and there was only nineteenth cen- 
tury dust, and the dull realities of modern travellers— D. 
buried in the shadow of her hat, Mrs. C. asleep behind her 
spectacles in a corner. Perhaps some day we too may 
grow legendary and poetical to our great-grandchildren, 
and the prospective New Zealander will write the idylls of 
the Alpine Club. 

A shout from our driver, and vigorous indications of his 
whip, directed our attention to the great cliff under which 
we were passing, where, far above our heads, we were 
intended to see the small cave and crucifix which marks 
the scene of an old Tyrol story. 

The Emperor Maximilian was as keen a sportsman as 
any modern Wildsckwtz, and one fine morning, ever so 
many years ago, he was led in the excitement of the 
chase, to the very edge of the great Martinswand, and 
while the chamois bounded away in safety, the less fortu- 
nate Emperor missed his footing, and, falling from the 




T\li tnarJoh wail's 




/The poor cieaT Kaiset " ! 



MOUNTAINEERINGS IN AN OMNIBUS. 33 

rocks, was just able to save himself by clinging, with the 
tenacity of despair, to a small ledge of rock, where he 
hung helplessly, head downwards, in full view of his faithful 
subjects. Nobles and peasants, priests and courtiers, gave 
him up as lost. The spot was deemed simply inaccessible 
to anything without wings, and unless a special miracle 
was wrought in his behalf, a faithful son of the Church 
must perish. Of course, a crowd was collected, and a holy 
abbot was summoned, who, kneeling on the ground on 
which our chariot and its heretical inmates were then 
halting, began solemnly chanting the prayers for the 
dead. The poor Emperor, hanging by his eyelids mean- 
while, and looking down from his elevation of more than 
700 feet, must have been rather aggravated by the per- 
formance, if, in the awful agony of such a moment, he 
had any sight or thoughts to spare for earthly things. 
But help was at hand, and a brave huntsman, seeing from 
above Maximilian's mortal peril, cried to him to be of 
good courage, and to maintain his hold ; and with wonder- 
ful skill and hardihood, he swung himself down to the 
Emperor's side, seized him in his strong grasp, and cling- 
ing to the rocks with their iron-shod feet, they scaled the 
wall that seemed so utterly inaccessible, while the abbot 
chanted on below, and the people shouted e A miracle, an 
angel has come to the rescue of the Kaiser ! ' 

Whether the abbot was put on the pension list for 
services rendered, the legend sayeth not, but to one, Zips 



34 BREAKING THE ICE, OR 

of Zirl, sixteen florins were paid yearly — surely a not ex- 
travagant sum. 

Of our two days' stay in Innsbruck there is but little to 
tell, but little to write about that would be new to anyone. 
It is a simple old town, with broad open streets, many 
handsome buildings, long arcades with shops hidden away 
in their shadows, and fruit-sellers hawking Verona cherries 
beneath the pillars. There is a palace, and a public 
garden and Caserne, and many churches, a university and 
a museum. Rows of trees make a pleasant greenery 
about the river, and rich woods skirt the hills, which form 
a perfect wall on most sides of the town — and from the 
windows of the houses, or the broad Neustadt, you look 
up to the great stone giants, and think that, standing on 
their summits, you could throw a pebble clear and straight 
into the street below ; and it is from this outlook that 
hungry wolves are supposed to gaze when they come 
prowling round on market-days, licking their lips, and 
moaning in melancholy fashion at the fat little lambs 
below. 

We lived in most luxurious comfort at the Osterreichi- 
cher Hof, where an attentive- landlord and a good cook 
did their best to make us welcome. One morning was 
spent in the Hof-Kirche, a church boasting very little 
beauty of its own, but rich in the grand tomb of Maxi- 
milian. It was a proud thought of the old Emperor, that 
while his own image was sculptured, kneeling with hands 



MOUNTAINEERINGS IN AN OMNIBUS. 35 

meekly folded in prayer, about him keeping watch and ward 
evermore, should stand knights and kings and warriors, 
noble women, wives and mothers of kings, the dead whom 
he would do well to honour, and many who had touched 
his hand in life, or stood by him in his toils and triumphs. 
A throng of mighty ghosts, silent and colossal, in all 
the pomp of royal robes and brilliantly-wrought armour, 
turned, as by a magician's wand, into rich bronze images. 
We could have lingered long recalling the history at- 
tached to each great name, and marvelling at the skill 
which made the robes fall in soft folds and showed the 
ermine at their edge, the gold and jewelled embroidery, 
the ripple of the hair, even the delicate lace over the 
clasped hands, the fine chain armour, and the helmet with 
its plume — all wrought out in the metal by a master's 
hand. Two of the most beautiful of the figures are 
our own king Arthur, a most peerless-looking knight, 
and Theoderic, leaning on his sword. There is poor 
Joanne la Folle and her handsome husband, Ferdinand 
the Catholic, burly Godfrey of Bouillon, and 6 Frederick 
with the empty purse,' somewhat the scapegrace of the 
party. The sides of the tomb are covered with minute 
bas-reliefs in ivory, illustrating the life of the dead 
Emperor. Births, deaths, marriages, battles, and treaties — 
all are rendered with wonderful beauty and truth. Near 
the door of the church is the grave of Hofer, marked by 
a tomb and a marble statue. The Austrians, with tardy 

D 



36 BREAKING THE ICE, OR 

justice, buried him in triumph, and sought to forget that 
they had sacrificed him. Near by is a cenotaph to the 
Tyrolese who fell fighting for their fatherland. It is not 
pleasant to have all one's ideas of right and wrong sud- 
denly disarranged — and for the last few years Italian sym- 
pathies had been part of our very creed of faith — and here, 
in Austria, the divine right of kings and the tenderness of 
a paternal government smooths for us the angry feathers of 
the old double eagle, and we almost forget the cruel beak, 
the grasp of the talons, and the long agony of Italy. 

It is well to see things with the eyes and minds of 
different peoples and races; you learn to have a horror 
of prejudice and preconceptions, and to feel more and 
more how little you really know of other's hopes and 
wishes and lives, and the modes of thought from which 
actions slowly grow. 

We were breathing somewhat of a war atmosphere at 
last.* The town was full of soldiers, and regiments were 
being hastily sent on to the front. Officers and men 
strolled about the streets in lazy security, smoked and 
chatted; there was music, with blasts of trumpets, as 
Jdger or Grenzer started for the frontier : but there was 
little excitement and no enthusiasm ; the men we talked to 
still seemed sceptical of the possibility of a war between 
the German peoples — with Italy there might be, but Italy 
would soon be crushed, and then there would be peace ; 

* Our journey "was made during May and June of 1866. 



MOUNTAINEERING IN AN OMNIBUS. 37 

and meanwhile the troops still passed to the front. One 
morning we were roused between three and four o'clock 
by a burst of music, and saw from our windows the long 
train filing through the street, with mounted officers 
muffled in great grey coats, men in full marching order, 
and baggage wagons, on one of which was stretched a 
poor sick soldier, that made one think, with a shudder, of 
the coming death and misery ; hands were held in a tight 
clasp, and sunburnt soldiers kissed on either cheek by 
friends amongst the crowd, and here and there a woman 
turned away to sob ; but, on the whole, things were con- 
ducted in a business-like manner, and with the customary 
German phlegm. 

Just outside the town is the cemetery, GocVs acre, as 
the Germans name it, where there is much good sculpture 
and fresh flowers, and beautiful creepers wreathed above 
the graves. We made two expeditions to Schloss Ambras, 
once during this first visit to Innsbruck and again on our 
return two weeks later. The drive is a charming one, 
when you have once got over the dusty road immediately 
outside the town and begin to ascend, with rich wooded 
hills on one hand of the broad valley of the Inn lying 
at your feet. The view from the old chateau is quite per- 
fect when the sunshine is flooding the whole scene with 
light, and before summer has come to melt the snow from 
the nearer hills. We stood long on the high broad terrace 
where Ferdinand and Philippina must often have lingered 

D 2 



38 BREAKING THE ICE, OR 

in the early days of their happy married life, whispering 
sweet words to each other, or speculating as to possible 
forgiveness in the future, as they looked down on the old 
palace (now buried beneath Maria Theresa's neuer Hof), 
and thought of the direful anger of Kaiser and father-in- 
law. Here their fair young sons grew up to that stately 
beauty which so touched the old man's heart, when Phi- 
lippina flung herself at his feet, that he pardoned them 
all, and blessed and provided for them on the instant, 
the mother and her young margraves going home content. 
It is strange to see how all the old stories and romances 
of Tyrol centre round this fair-faced woman, who must 
have been as good and wise as she was beautiful, guiding 
husband and children with a tender hand, and teaching 
those rude knights and squires and people of the baser 
sort, what home life and love might be. For thirty years, 
the legends say, the Archduke lived happily with his 
Burgher wife; and the quaint, beautiful poem — very 
rarely to be read, alas ! in those fierce days — ended in the 
sculptured figures on a tomb, and a memory very tenderly 
enshrined in the hearts of the people. Philippina Welser 
was the daughter of one of the old Augsburg citizen 
princes, and the sweet face that looks out at you from 
the picture is patrician in every delicate line and curve, 
and winsome enough to make even a royal lover feel the 
world well lost for her dear sake. 

Apart from the exceeding beauty of its surroundings, 



MOUNTAINEERING IN AN OMNIBUS. 39 

there is a good deal of bathos about Schloss Ambras at the 
present day. The public are only admitted to the great 
hall, once gorgeous in decoration, and celebrated for the 
beauty of the collection of rare armour, paintings, and gems 
stored there by Ferdinand, one of whose prudent successors 
has despoiled the place. The marvels are all to be seen 
in Vienna, and there is very little left except a few old 
Japanese erections, some ludicrous oil-paintings of dwarfs 
and giants, and a ghastly array of wooden horses, grey 
and roan, black and piebald, waiting in their stalls for the 
armour and the trappings that may never clothe their 
poor old sides again. There was a stout porter in blue 
livery, who was custode of the great bare hall, and lived 
there happy in his implicit belief in the whole affair, and 
vegetating on a decayed reputation. Worthy old servitor ! 
We regarded him with boundless respect and admiration 
as he solemnly marshalled us from one old stand of bric- 
a-brac to another, expending a limitless treasure of 
description on the Japanese pagodas, in voluble German, 
to which Mrs. C. lent a most attentive and conscientious 
ear, the rest of the party pretending not to understand the 
language, and adjourning to the horses and the dwarfs. 
We found a little bed, very mouldy-looking, and entirely 
in keeping with the rest of the furniture, with old banners 
falling to decay draped about it, and here the porter slept 
every night, and sleeps still probably, keeping watch lest 
the Prussians, or the Free-Lances, or the Turks should 



40 BREAKING THE ICE, OR 

carry off his wooden stud for heavy cavalry purposes, and 
where no doubt he snores in peace (being somewhat 
apoplectic) after his supper of beer and sausages in the 
little tea-garden establishment outside the gates, and 
dreams that he is High Steward, and that Ferdinand and 
Philippina are waiting to receive a visit from the Konig- 
liche Kaiser, and that there will be great feasting in the 
land. In this age of scepticism an embodiment of a great 
faith is very awe-inspiring. We felt he conferred a favour 
on us when he accepted with dignity a gratuity at parting, 
in the form of a two-florin piece. 

One evening we drove to Berg Isel, a pretty little 
wooded plateau, the shooting-ground of the Jager regi- 
ment, containing a sort of restaaration and a beer-garden, 
where we and some of our English friends sat under the 
trees round a little table, drinking lemonade to the music 
of violins, and realising the simple pleasures of a primi- 
tive existence, enhanced to the worthy burghers by the 
additional possibility of Jager bier. We did our duty in 
going to the Museum, but being, some of us, only ac- 
quainted with the ologies to a limited extent, were not 
much edified except with the Hofer relics, which were 
very touching things to see. Amongst all the old dry- 
as-dust collections, the products and practical good things 
of Tyrol, the tin plate amulet, the last letter ever 
written by that strong hand, the medal of St. Michael 
which he wore on his breast when they shot him down — 



MOUNTAINEERING IN AN OMNIBUS. 41 

even the old green braces, the vestiges of the peasant's 
dress he gloried in — are kept as the most sacred of 
treasures. 

That spendthrift Frederick, Count of Tyrol, whom we 
saw in the Hof-Kirche, looking solemnised, as befitted the 
occasion, and staring gravely through his bronze mask, 
was a heedless fellow enough when living; and when 
twitted by some shrewd townsfolk as to his empty purse, 
covered the roof of a great oriel window looking on the 
street with plates of gold, the whole conceit being valued 
at a cost of some 30,000 ducats, for which it is more than 
probable the royal prodigal never paid. Das goldene 
Bach stands there now, a little dimmed by time, but still 
resplendent, for the admiration of valets cle jplace and 
wide-eyed tourists. 

We climbed on to the roof oi* our hotel, and walked 
across it, steadying ourselves on the rough edges of the 
tiles, and watched the sunset light up the snow-hills like 
a great illumination ; and then, after one more night 
amidst civilisation, we started by train for Worgl, passing 
through a station gay with green wreaths and banners in 
honour of the Emperor. The costumes of the people 
charmed us everywhere. On Sunday morning at Inns- 
bruck we saw them at their brightest at a musical mass 
in the Hof-Kirche : the women in low-crowned hats with 
gold and silver tassels, gay-coloured silk kerchief or 
boddice, and white chemisette. They are a good-looking 



42 BREAKING THE ICE, OR 

well-grown race. Peasants from more distant districts 
were mingled with the town and country people ; and we 
watched many a picturesque old dame busy with her 
rosary and prayer-book, in a heavy cap of sable, very 
handsome in effect, but uncomfortably hot one would 
fancy to the wearer. As the train moved at the usual 
sedate pace, we were able to secure many hasty sketches 
of people and things. Very beautiful was the scene : 
chateaux crowning the wooded hills, cloisters half hidden 
among the trees, churches with slender spires, coloured 
now deep red, now emerald green, according to the taste 
of the parishioners, cosy little villages nestled at the foot 
of the pine woods or on the summits of the lower slopes, 
the long lines of rail running close to the swift-flowing 
river, or crossing it over the many bridges on our route. 
We were travelling on a Whit Monday, and, though de- 
barred from the delights of c Clubs ' on the march, or 
holiday-making Foresters at home, we found each little 
station crowded by peasants in brilliant festa dress, wait- 
ing to start or watching for travellers. A convoi of 
soldiers passed us ; the men looked in good heart, and 
there was a faint attempt at cheering from them and the 
people; but generally, during their transit, the troops 
seemed packed into huge vans destitute of windows or 
any openings in place of them, in which they were penned 
like cattle. 

While we waited in an empty room at the Worgl sta- 



MOUNTAINEEEING IN AN OMNIBUS. 43 

tion, our father and F. hurried to the posthouse near by 
to secure a carriage. This apartment strongly resembled 
similar ones in England. There was a table and two or 
three chairs, and one of those long lists of trains, framed 
and glazed, on the walls, which you feel helplessly bound 
to read through from end to end. Altogether, the re- 
sources at our disposal were of a negative kind. There 
was nothing to be seen from the window but some super- 
annuated trucks, no provisions of any kind to be found 
on the premises, nothing but the table, the chairs, and a 
thorough draught. But we had a certain supply of food 
with us. A tin of biscuits, which were to be kept for an 
emergency, and some potted meat — prepared in anticipa- 
tion of a journey in the Dolomites, where, according to re- 
port, Mehlspeise forms the sole subsistence of the inhabit- 
ants. This same potted meat gave us the greatest anxiety. 
It might only be eaten in limited portions till the Dolo- 
mites were reached ; and it had become evident to every 
one that it would not keep. A large number of tin pots 
had been prepared, filled, and hermetically sealed with a 
preparation of resin ; but the resin cracked, and then 
melted, and then became a dust, imperceptible and deadly, 
which insinuated itself with sticky persistency into every- 
thing within its reach. We had carefully packed the tins 
in one side of a portmanteau, with cakes of preserved 
soup, bibles and picture-books for presents, a bottle of 
ink, a supply of chocolate, and a packet of arrowroot. 



44 



The state of that portmanteau when the arrowroot ran 
out of a hole in the paper and joined the resin, it were 
vain to try to describe in words. One at a time the pots 
were extracted, and the contents handed round ; but with 
the escape of the resin the air had got in, and there was 
a layer of blue mould on the top which was anything 
but appetising, and which Mrs. C. daily eliminated with 
unfailing perseverance, affirming that from constantly re- 
siding in a damp county she was accustomed to such 
emergencies, and fully prepared to meet them. 

Meanwhile the gentlemen returned with an enormous 
Stellwagen, which carried us on for the next three stages, 
stopping at Elmau, where we dined, and painted flowers, 
while the horses rested, gossiping with a pleasant Kellnerin, 
who kissed our hands most gratefully when we gave her 
a German gospel ; for strong Eoman Catholics as are all 
the people of Tyrol, we have never had one refused, and 
often our little books have been accepted with the greatest 
delight. 

The days when a milord anglais drove through Europe 
with valet and courier to interpose between the wind 
and his nobility, are happily over. Our countrymen and 
women, when they travel, have begun to discover that the 
despised peasantry of the land are often as good, if not 
better company than people they have left at home ; and 
travellers in search of a new sensation enjoy roughing it 
for a few weeks amongst the mountains, and are rather 



MOUNTAINEERING IN AN OMNIBUS. 45 

bored than otherwise by grand hotels and a good cuisine. 
But if we have come back to the archaics and the sim- 
plicities of life, it is still only somewhat because fashion 
affects primitive manners, and Marie-Antoinette has a 
new petit trianon. We are no nearer, in reality, to the 
hearts and lives of the people ; and this we were earnest, 
in our small measure, to achieve. It was easy for Mrs. C, 
who has an unlimited knowledge of the language, in every 
shade of patois, to condole with the good Frauen over 
the sickness among the cows, the father's rheumatism, 
or Madeleine's love affair with a Wildschiitz. Ordinary 
mortals, whose talents are less brilliant, have to eke out 
their remarks with smiles, or compassionate gestures ; but 
it was pleasant to see how quickly a sympathy grew up 
between you and the people, and to feel that you could 
face the cold wind again all the better, for their warm 
kindliness, which had so stirred your heart. Travelling 
with a limited amount of luggage, there is little to give 
away, but small things seemed to make them happy. 
English knives or scissors, bright money, to be worn as 
a charm by happy-faced little children, proud to show 
the ' Konigin von England,' books always a delight, 
pleasant pictures, and essays, and poems written for that 
especial class. A ' British Workman,' or a ' Band of Hope,' 
is a great prize to those Germans, who are eager to learn 
a little English, from the Kutscher to 'boots' at the 
hotels ; and, above all, the bibles are very welcome ; and, 



46 BREAKING THE ICE, OR 

in lone mountain homes, who knows what store of blessing 
and comfort and peace they may have brought to weary 
hearts. 

We had been driving all that day from Worgl through 
a pleasant valley, well cultivated and sprinkled with 
cottages and hamlets, and everywhere the Whit-Monday 
festivities went with us and met us, brightening all the 
road. There were quiet gatherings of the people at 
favourite trysting-places ; in one village a little country 
fair was being held, the entertainments at which were 
restricted to beer, or very sweet strong coffee, sold at the 
Wirthshaus near by ; but there were three stalls with 
crockery and hardware, and leather harness, bright silk 
handkerchiefs, and long straw cords, plaited and twisted 
in some neighbouring district. We patronised the Hutte 
to the extent of some cords, and a few feathers with 
eagles' beaks, set in Tyrol fashion. There was a crowd 
of old men standing about smoking and talking, but the 
strength of the nation had been carried off to the wars, 
the conscription telling heavily in these thinly-populated 
districts. 

Once more we slept in a country inn, where, however, 
the Wirthin was ' to the fore.' A brisk, pleasant woman, 
who managed her household with spirit and good temper, 
gave us good homespun linen and a capital supper, 
prepared by one or two cooks in a great vaulted kitchen, 
whom we watched at their work, as they stood round a 



IIP JmP^ 





-J 




1 



MOUNTAINEERING IN AN OMNIBUS. 47 

low stove about five feet square, in which were little 
ovens, and on which at pleasure a fire could be lighted. 
The Hausfrau carried her keys slung at her girdle, and 
wore a dozen petticoats, to judge from the size of her 
skirt, which she assured us was guiltless of crinoline, and 
6 all solid.' Our rooms were most comfortable, spacious, 
handsomely furnished, and exquisitely clean ; we had 
a very good Ahendessen, with meat and eggs and coffee, 
breakfast of the same, hot or cold baths, fires in all the 
stoves, and for our party of seven (including the guide), 
the whole charge was only eight Gulden. 

There was the same battle the next morning between 
frost and wind and sunshine, and, of course, it was two 
to one against anything like warmth. We set out for a 
good tramp, leaving Christian and the luggage and the 
omnibus to follow us, while we jodeled and shouted to 
the echoes, ran races for the benefit of our half-frozen 
feet, and gathered great branches of ferns and flowers, 
masses of cistus, and gentians as large as the finest garden 
blossoms in England ; there were myriads of heartsease, 
golden or purple, making large tracts of land brilliant 
with their colouring ; country carts and carriages, marvel- 
lous to behold, passed us, and droves of goats and cows, 
their drivers resting under the trees. We climbed a very 
steep hill, which brought us to the frontier ; the wooden 
bars painted black and yellow were left behind, and 
Bavarian white and blue appeared in sight. There were 



48 BREAKING THE ICE, OK 

polite officials, who graciously permitted us to enter the 
little kingdom, dignified characters who would not con- 
descend to ask for our passports, but greeted us with a 
wave of the hand, which said as plainly as words, ' pass ! 
pass ! our souls are too big for the meanness of mistrust ; 
consider yourselves saluted, and spare us the necessity of 
removing our pipes in order to speak to you ! ' 

We rested in the inn near by; warmed our frozen limbs 
with hot mulled wine, a capital invention, as the sour red 
wine of the country, which it would be utterly impos- 
sible to drink except during the greatest heat of summer, 
when warmed and well sweetened, is very good, and serves 
as a capital luncheon with fresh bread, which we could 
almost always procure. From the high ridge on which 
the Wirthshaus stood, we had a glorious view of the plain 
we had just crossed, little valleys, wooded hills, and distant 
mountains, with the soft powdering of yellow green over 
the landscape, which comes when the first sunshine has 
touched the boughs in spring. The long grass in the 
fields waved in the wind, with white and grey lights and 
shadows upon it, as the clouds passed across the sky, and 
in contrast to the golden beeches, each tiny leaf looked 
blue and emerald through the glitter of its frost and dew. 
The divisions of these inland countries are always 
strange things to contemplate when Nature has not herself 
arranged the boundaries, and thrown-up a great wall, like 
the Pyrenees, or formed a natural moat like the Ehine. 




Mt3 C ruiYiplcttas el hie. C«W . 



MOUNTAINEERING IN AN OMNIBUS. 49 

Here, at Melleek, one seemed to go up stairs into Bavaria, 
so sudden and steep was the ascent of the hill on the 
summit of which the frontier was marked out. Austria 
lay below, secure in her possession as owner of the ground, 
while little Baiern appeared to have contented herself 
with a lodging au 'premier. But a half-hour's drive 
dispelled our illusions. Valleys and hills once more 
stretched in broken undulations around us, and there was 
nothing to tell us that we were now under the dominion 
of King Ludwig, except, indeed, a fresh collection of 
family portraits in the inns on our route. 

We had become intimately acquainted with the Emperor 
and Empress in every possible attitude and costume, and 
could tell at what particular date the Kaiser had begun to 
shave, when he married, and the different fashions of the 
beautiful Kaiserin's robes and jewels. It was pleasant to 
see with what affection and loyalty the people everywhere 
treasured these pictures, and how much some of the very 
poor peasants must have expended on such memorials, which 
were always hung in the place of honour, with, among the 
better class of innkeepers, a portrait in oils, magnificently 
out of drawing, and in which the artist had given a minute 
attention to the family gems, ignoring such trivialities 
as features or expression; fine old Wirths and Wirthins, 
with any number of chins, smiling and rubicund, with 
one eye fixing you with a glassy stare on your entrance, 
and their hands complacently folded over their capacious 



50 BREAKING THE ICE, OR 

waists. Here and there, in quite out-of-the-way places 
amongst the mountains, we have seen some fine studies — 
a 'Grood Shepherd,' or a e Madonna,' full of pathetic beauty, 
that make one wonder how they ever reached such poor 
little nooks and corners of the world. Perhaps some young 
artist, travelling to a great city, where he was to gain fame 
and bread, may have lingered at the wayside inn, and 
painted a picture for love of the soft-eyed model he had 
found there, or for the more prosaic reason that he was 
himself without a Zwanziger wherewith to pay his bill ! 

But meantime, on this 22nd of May we were journeying 
on our way towards Berchtesgaden, the horses trotting on 
briskly, eager to reach Eeichenhall, the end of their stage, 
the old Stellwagen and the seven travellers lumbering 
behind them. There was something to us infinitely comic 
in thus wandering over the mountains in an omnibus, 
our preconceived notions of Tyrol travelling being based 
upon Swiss experiences, as far at least as the ladies of the 
party were concerned. All the good roads, which are to be 
found everywhere in Austria and Bavaria, make the style 
of locomotion of course utterly different to anything we 
had considered properly f Alpine.' 

The country through which we passed was wonderfully 
beautiful, the scene changing each moment as the good 
broad road wound leisurely round the hills. Now and then 
we turned suddenly into a narrow gorge, where grand cliffs 
towered above us, the pines clinging to their sides, while 




» m 






t=a r 















S- .^ohonn 



MOUNTAINEERINGS IN AN OMNIBUS. 51 

we looked down through a foreground of soft grass, bright 
with flowers and studded with stones covered with moss 
and ferns, to the clear green water splashing over the 
pebbles far below, and shining between masses of foliage, 
acacias, ■ larches, and firs, which clothed the foot of the 
hills with endless shades of colour. The villages were 
very Swiss-like, with their broad roofs and pretty wooden 
balconies. We drew up at a big overgrown hotel in 
Eeichenhall, to which the saltworks, for which the place 
is famous, bring, no doubt, many guests, mercantile and 
others. Here we had to wait for two hours while some- 
thing in the shape of a carriage was hunted out, Stelhvdgen 
having apparently ceased out of the land, as far as they 
related to private enterprise. 

We whiled away the time by translating the last Allge- 
raeine Zeitung, and trying to discover some glimmer of 
fact and reality amongst the cautious fogginess and wonder- 
ful word-transpositions in which a Grerman editor delights. 
If language had been given us to conceal ideas, truly a 
high and mighty Prussian or Austrian newspaper contri- 
butor would come out as a double first in a competitive 
examination, and Monsieur Talleyrand, if he had only 
lived long enough to know him, might have requested 
the pleasure of shaking hands with him, on his having 
attained to such a rank in literature. A walk through the 
streets proved utterly unexciting, and the shops, if possible, 
more so. Dinner and a heavy snow storm occupied another 



~)2 BKEAKING THE ICE. 

hour, and before we left we were much interested in watch- 
ing a strange and motley procession, ecclesiastical in the 
matter of priests and candles, but apparently combining 
every grade of citizen and citizeness who had any preten- 
sions to piety. It is sad to realise the inevitable truth that 
superstition and scepticism go hand-in-hand. Those who 
did not take part in the demonstration sneered at it rather 
scornfully. There were men who carried tapers, little girls 
in white and blue with wreaths round their hair, support- 
ing a platform, on which a great Madonna sat enthroned, 
a mighty show of banners, images of saints, then trumpets 
and the Host under a canopy, and priests, nuns, and 
acolytes, rubbing their chilled fingers as they told their 
beads, or chanting lustily. Bread was given away to the 
people, and old women, looking pinched with cold, and 
with very red eyes and noses, hobbled on, each with a 
long flat loaf under u her arm, and covered, poor old souls, 
with the heavy snowflakes which fell thicker and faster as 
we drove out of the town, hastening on our way to pleasant 
Berchtesgaden and a week's wandering amongst the valleys 
of the Salzkammergut. 



NOTES 

ON 

THE PASSAGE OF THE OLD WEISSTHOE 

WITH 

THE ASCENT OF THE SIONALKUPPE. 



' Look what streaks 
Do lace the severing clouds in yonder east. 
Night's tapers are burnt out, and jocund day 
Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops.' 

Shakspeare. 

' Here we go up, up, up ! 
Here we go down, down, down! ' 

Nursery Rhyme. 



NOTES ON THE PASSAGE OF THE OLD WEISSTHOR, 
WITH THE ASCENT OF THE SIGNALKUPPE. 



ON June 15, 1861, accompanied by two friends, C. and 
W., and with the trusty J. J. Bennen a.nd Peter Perm 
as guides, I crossed from Zermatt to Gressonay by the 
Lys Joch, an account of the first passage of which by 
Mr. W. Mathews appears in the second series of i Peaks, 
Passes, and Grlaciers.' 

The 16th being Sunday, we spent quietly chez Dela- 
pierre, and, on the following day, crossed the Col Val- 
dobbia to Kiva. Thence we proceeded to Alagna, and in 
the afternoon went over the Col di Moud, a pass between 
the Moudhorn or Cima di Moud and Tagliaferro (7,467 
feet in height by the sympiesometer), to Eima at the head 
of the west branch of the Val Sermenta, and so to Rimasco 
at the point where the valley divides. Here, at the little 
albergo, we found good intentions in abundance; but 
paving materials make poor fare, and, without disrespect 
to our worthy well-meaning host, I must confess that the 
quarters are not a Capua, though, of course, good enough 
for Alpine Clubbists. 

E 2 



5G PASSAGE OF THE OLD WEISSTHOR, 

On the 18th, a delightful stroll of two easy hours in the 
early morning by the side of a clear, flashing trout-stream, 
which descends the left or east branch of the Val Sermenta, 
brought us to Carcoforo, where, to our surprise, we came 
upon a most cozy little cabaret, kept by one Pietro Ber- 
tolini. Good wine, milk, cheese, honey, bread, and two 
beds are to be obtained, and, what is far better, great 
civility and real cleanliness, as far as our observations 
went. Our object being only to reach Ponte Grande, we 
determined to enjoy ourselves at our leisure, and so con- 
trived to while away an hour in a second breakfast, and 
two more in the most lazy and luxuriant ascent of the 
grassy slopes of the Col d'Eigua, the summit of which we 
gained soon after twelve. The height, by a sympiesometer 
observation, comes out 7,394.8 feet, agreeing very nearly 
with Studer's determination, 7,382. The view from the 
pass is a very lovely one, but ten minutes' climb to a rocky 
summit on the south-east is well worth so trifling an effort. 
Monte Eosa is seen rising almost due west in great majesty, 
and in our subsequent passage of the ridge which connects 
it with the Cima di Jazi we derived great benefit from the 
observations which we were here able to make. On the 
north-east side, at a point several hundred feet lower, the 
Col di Barranca, at the head of the Val Mastalone, is passed 
on the right, and the path then continues down through a 
succession of lovely scenes, the beauty of which can hardly 
be surpassed. Ferns in profusion, magnificent rhododen- 



AND ASCENT OF THE SIGNALKUPPE. 57 

drons and wild laburnums in full bloom gradually gave 
place to walnuts and chestnuts of royal dimensions, vines, 
and maize, whilst fine pine-woods crowned the heights, 
■ in silent vigil, keeping watch and ward ' over the happy 
valley. In such spots the traveller's object is not so 
much progression as loitering ; and, instead of boasting 
that we accomplished this distance in such and such a 
remarkably short time, I feel a greater pride in saying 
that after spending an hour and a half on the summit, we 
contrived to while away four more between it and Ponte 
Grande. A fast walker would probably accomplish the 
distance from Eimasco to Carcoforo easily in an hour and 
a half; thence to the summit of the pass in an hour and a 
half more, and down to Ponte Grande in two hours and a 
half, or five hours and a half in all. We found excellent 
quarters at Ponte Grande in the hotel and pension of the 
same name, and on the 19th strolled up to Macugnaga, 
devoting an hour or two en route to a pretty complete 
exploration of the Pestarena gold mine. This is worth a 
visit, but I must not here attempt a description of its 
really extraordinary galleries, or the marvellously cum- 
brous machinery, groaning, creaking, straining and wheez- 
ing in the bowels of the earth. As an illustration of the 
antiquated state of things,* I may just mention, however, 
that the ore, instead of being crushed by stamps, the 
water-power necessary for which is close at hand in any 
* Written in 1861. 



58 PASSAGE OF THE OLD WEISSTHOR, 

amount, was all broken by band, in a dark, dirty room, 
where three or four grimy and wretched-looking objects 
were seated before piles which they were slowly and 
laboriously reducing to smaller dimensions by blows of a 
hammer. 

We had originally intended to return to Zermatt by 
the Weissthor pass as now usually taken to the north of 
the Cima di Jazi, but I had long been anxious to lay the 
ghost of the Old Weissthor if ever the chance came in 
my way ; and as Macugnaga was a better starting-point 
for the attempt than Zermatt, it was resolved that we 
would at least make the attempt, wind and weather 
permitting. 

Our reconnaisance from the summit above the Col 
d'Eigua had led us to the conclusion that, in the actual 
state of the neve crowning the ridge, a passage would be 
most easily effected at a point in the long rocky wall con- 
necting the Cima with the Nordend, not far from the 
former summit. From our point. of view the Jazi glacier 
was hidden, but just above where we knew it must be, a 
broad couloir ran up for a distance of 1,000 feet or more, 
slightly bending to the right. It then divided, sending 
up (if I may be allowed such an inversion of ideas) a 
branch to the left of considerable width, and a second and 
narrower one to the right. The first continued without a 
break to the summit, but there the overhanging masses 
of neve appeared likely to give much trouble, if not bar 



\^/^T^T- 




X^tonnoi ("ring- , 




5 4<5-a.-m. rfie-iT cample-^iims ttffin to -S U-ff 



AND ASCENT OF THE SIGNALKUPPE. 59 

further progress, and we therefore turned our attention to 
the second and more northerly one. Half-way between 
its commencement and the sky-line it again bifurcated, 
and there seemed every reason to hope that its left arm 
would afford the means of gaining the crest. As the 
ascent proved, this is yet another instance of the great 
utility of a careful examination of a doubtful route before- 
hand ; for, though I will not venture to assert positively 
that in no other way than this could our variation of the 
Old Weissthor have been accomplished, yet the rapidity 
and ease with which it was done were mainly due to 
our having previously made ourselves familiar with the 
ground. 

Arrived at Macugnaga, we lost no time in making pre- 
parations for the morrow, and were ably seconded by 
our host of the Moro. On inquiring for some one to 
take our knapsacks round to Zermatt over the Moro, we 
were informed that there were two or three men then 
working in the inn who had also a great hankering to ac- 
complish the Old Weissthor. How long this desire had 
existed on their part we did not inquire, but it was soon 
arranged to our mutual satisfaction that two of them 
should come as porters with us to the summit, whence 
we could easily manage the knapsacks among our own 
party, whilst they returned by the New Weissthor. The 
pay was to be fifteen francs for the two, we finding 
provisions for one only, as the other came less because 



60 



we needed him than because his comrade did not like 
returning alone. The names of the men were Jean 
Baptiste Andermatt and Bartholomee Burgner, of Saas, 
and both, I may add, acquitted themselves to our entire 
satisfaction. 

Monte Rosa withdrew behind the clouds towards even- 
ing, and as there was therefore nothing particular to de- 
tain us and good reason for retiring early, I must plead 
guilty to having turned in at the unconscionable hour of 
seven o'clock. 

At 12.15 a.m. on the 20th we were up, and though a 
haze hung over the valley, which was black as pitch, it 
somehow felt like clearing up, and I had a comfortable 
sense that we should succeed. Breakfast was soon dis- 
patched, and at 1.25 we wished our host good-bye, and 
under the guidance of the men of Saas, one of whom 
carried a lantern to be ' left till called for ' at the Jazi 
Alp, traversed as rapidly as circumstances would permit 
the beautiful meadows above Macugnaga. The hamlet of 
Pecceto was soon reached, and the bridge over one branch 
of the Anza was successfully hit by our leader ; but the 
waste ground at the foot of the moraine led us into 
difficulties, and in the deep darkness, the lantern served 
only to make confusion worse confounded. The men de- 
clared at length that we were where the bridge ought to 
be; but there, before us, was the roaring stream with only 
a few bits of logs stickiug up through its turbid waters. 



AND ASCENT OF THE SIGNALKUPPE. 61 

It was vexing to meet with a check so early, and for some 
time it realty did appear as though we should have to 
wait for daylight to extricate ourselves. After poking 
about in various directions, however, each man following 
his own devices, we at length effected a passage at the point 
where the stream quitted the glacier, though not without 
sundry immersions and hearty laughter. Spite of the 
delay thus occasioned, we gained the summit of the ' Bel- 
vedere ' (which is close to the spot marked i Beim See ' in 
the Schlagintweits' Map) at 3, and crossing diagonally the 
northern arm of the Macugnaga glacier, formed by the 
union of the Nordend tributary with a portion of that from 
the Hochste Spitze, reached at 3.20 the path leading 
along the summit of the lateral moraine, just where the 
e struggle for existence ' is becoming too much for some 
unhappy-looking fir trees picketed out here on the out- 
skirts of vegetation. The mists now rose, disclosing 
grandly the vast amphitheatre so well known, yet so im- 
possible to describe in adequate language ; and every 
minute gave fresh assurance that, so far as weather was 
concerned, we had everything to hope. 

Leaving the Eofelstaffel Alp on the right, we arrived, 
at 3.40, at the bottom of the slope of the Jazi Alp, facing 
the glacier of the same name ; and scanning the great 
wall before us, were glad to perceive that our distant survey 
appeared to be entirely confirmed by a closer examination ; 
whilst, as now seen, the slope seemed less formidably 



62 PASSAGE OF THE OLD WEISSTHOE, 

steep than when viewed from a higher point. Striking off 
at right angles to our previous course, we soon entered 
upon the Jazi glacier, which was covered with firm snow 
and debris of avalanches, and afforded excellent footing. 
Having reached some rocks a few hundred feet above its 
foot, we halted at 4 a.m. to take a second breakfast and 
watch the hues of sunrise spreading over Monte Rosa. 
Ten minutes and a keen appetite sufficed to lighten 
considerably our provision-sack, and we were soon again 
under way. Nothing could be more perfect than the snow, 
nothing more exquisitely beautiful than the scene; the 
guides caught our enthusiasm, and all bending to the task 
with a will, we ground steadily upwards, the slope increas- 
ing from 30° to 35° and 40°, till 4.45, when a clear stream 
coming down from the cliffs of the Cima offered a tempta- 
tion that was not to be resisted, and we revelled for a few 
minutes in the unlooked-for luxury. We were now working 
up the broad couloir, filled with snow and avalanche 
debris, which, as it descends, gradually spreads out like a 
fan, and is transmuted into the Jazi glacier, of which it 
supplies the neve. To the right were the cliffs of the 
Cima, all adrip with streamlets. Next came the re- 
entering angle of the vast mountain fortress, of which 
the Cima may be termed the bastion, and the ridge con- 
necting it with Monte Rosa the curtain; whilst imme- 
diately in our front, and at no great height above us, was 
the point previously described, where the main or trunk 



AND ASCENT OF THE SIGNALKUPPE. 63 

couloir divides into two smaller ones, of which the left 
hand and broader one appears to run up without a break 
to the crest of the pass, whilst its companion subdivides 
about midway. 

The first point of bifurcation was reached at 5.45, when 
the sun struck us, and, as the fresh snow was very 
dazzling, we again halted for a few minutes to put on 
spectacles, &c. The slope here was about 40°, but became 
steeper as we advanced, and was ploughed up by two im- 
mense furrows or avalanche-shoots, six or eight feet deep, 
and four or five wide, evidence of the fire of stones which, 
no doubt, goes on here as soon as the sun makes itself 
felt. Even at this early hour, a puff of snow or a few 
splinters of rock would break away above and come flying 
down; but here the furrows proved of real assistance in 
limiting the lateral deviation of the falling masses, and 
by keeping to the ridges, the risk was much lessened. 
I have already mentioned the streamlets from the Cima 
di Jazi. These are really quite a specialite of this pass, 
and, I need not say, a most agreeable one. At 6.30, after 
another bout of steady climbing for three-quarters of an 
hour, the slope increasing to 45°, another bright, sparkling 
stream came rollicking down on our right ; and as there 
was a strip of shade here, and human nature could not 
resist the united attractions of this sheltering rock, de- 
licious water, and a view of such exquisite beauty, we 
fairly cast prudential considerations aside, and perched 



64 PASSAGE OF THE OLD WEISSTHOR, 

in various unbecoming attitudes, scarcely more suggestive 
of otium than dignitas, with the intention of thoroughly 
enjoying ourselves. Time flew by, and it was half an hour 
before we could effect a start. At last, however, we were 
off at seven o'clock, and the couloir becoming increasingly 
steep (I measured 47° with the clinometer), whilst, from 
the greater softness of the snow, the footing was less 
secure, we occasionally quitted it for the rocks on one or 
the other bank. Our party being a large one, seven in 
all, our progress was slow, as the rocks were much dis- 
integrated, coming away in the hand, and requiring great 
care on the part of those in front. Everyone knows how 
much time is consumed when every other step is a 
' mauvais pas, 9 and all have to wait for each. We had, 
however, gained a great height by this time ; it was still 
early, and there was no great hardship in having to pause 
every half minute for some backslider below, and employ 
the time in endeavouring to digest the details of the 
glorious. cirq ue, to one of whose walls we were clinging. 
I have no note of the exact time, but I think it must have 
been considerably after eight o'clock, when we found our- 
selves at the point where the couloir again divided. / 
was strongly in favour of keeping up the left arm, but 
Bennen, who had had a touch of his beloved rocks, and 
was not to be cheated out of a good ( Rlettemf maintained 
that we had better keep up the ' Scheidewand, 9 or rock 
dividing the two branches. I was in too contented a 




Grinding sl'tad 



l)y u.pwa.Tcls . \ 




u)l"iijtTi l cum ciitt-nifafe. '." 



AND ASCENT OF THE SIGNALKUPPE. 65 

frame of mind to contend with him, and though privately 
I believed him to be wrong, it was probable that nothing- 
worse than loss of time would result from our taking 
the track he proposed, whilst the scramble would prove 
a pleasant contrast to the treadmill monotony of a pro- 
longed couloir-grind. So, at the rock we went. It was 
steep, frightfully steep I might say, were it not that in 
truth there was nothing really frightful about it, but hand 
over hand we climbed steadily up it till, turning a corner, 
I ran into Perm, who ran into Bennen, who came to a 
stop and looked puzzled. Eight and left of us were the 
two branches of the couloir at a considerable depth 
beneath ; the ridge up which we had been coming had a 
facial angle of about 60°, and just in front of us an 
adventurous bit of snow had quitted its parent plateau 
above, and crept foolishly down the very edges of the 
' Kamm ' on a voyage of discovery. To attack it en face 
and walk over its back was simply impossible, and there 
seemed so little chance of turning it by a flank move- 
ment, that I began triumphantly to rally Bennen, and 
insinuate that if he had let himself be persuaded by me 
and stuck to the couloir, we should have been on the 
summit ere this. He was not to be baulked, however, in 
this way, and at once made a dash at the right side of the 
slope, cut, kicked, and stamped his way to a bit of pro- 
jecting rock, and after repeated fruitless struggles dragged 
himself up it by sheer force of muscle or magnetic 



G6 PASSAGE OF THE OLD WEISSTHOK, 

affinity. Securing a footing, he then helped Perm to 
follow, and the two having anchored themselves firmly 
and reported that the summit was only a few yards 
above, I followed, and leaving them to assist the rest of 
the party, loosed the rope, passed on, and found myself in 
another minute face to face with the Matterhorn. 

It was some time before the whole party were landed on 
the ridge (9.30 in fact), and very curious it was to watch 
them hauled up one after another from space. Meanwhile, 
I set up my barometer and reconnoitred the couloir a few 
paces to the S., which presented no difficulties of a serious 
character. Even Bennen admitted that he was out in his 
judgment, whilst I conceded that I was thoroughly satisfied 
with the variety and excitement of the course we had 
taken, though it probably cost us at least three-quarters of 
an hour of additional work. As it was, we had been eight 
hours en route. Now, I think for various reasons there 
can be no doubt that this pass presents less difficulties 
when taken from Macugnaga, than it would do if attacked 
from the Zermatt side, but in the state in ivhich we found 
the snoiv, I believe it would have been perfectly easy, after 
traversing the first 500 feet with care, to glissade down the 
remainder of the slopes to the Macugnaga glacier. In this 
way, an hour would probably have sufficed to effect the 
entire descent, and two more would be ample to allow for 
reaching Macugnaga. As the summit of the pass could be 
reached in about four hours from the Eiffel if the snow 



tiTt-c- minultj 




?< 



ence and Sh«v'e.T£ 



AND ASCENT OF THE SIGNALKUPPE. 67 

were in good order, it will be seen that seven hours would 
suffice, under favourable circumstances, to effect the passage. 
Thus, had we quitted the Eiffel as early as we had started 
from Macugnaga, we might have arrived at the latter place 
to a half-past eight o'clock breakfast. To one, however, 
suddenly reaching the brink of these tremendous preci- 
pices after traversing for some hours gently undulating 
snow-fields, the first impression would be unsatisfactory 
and startling, and I do not therefore much wonder at the 
Zermatt guides, who are most familiar with the aspect of 
things as seen from the Cima, being discouraged thereby 
and reporting that the glacier^had ' fallen in.' 

We spent 1 J hour on the summit in the highest spirits, 
then bade adieu to our porters, who went merrily off to 
return by the New Weissthor, waking up the echoes with 
their jubilant jodelings, and at 10.45 started ourselves for 
Zermatt. My barometrical observation gives for the height 
of the pass 11,976.3 feet. A. Schlagintweit makes his col 
11,870.3, whilst M. Betemps puts it at 11,733 and the New 
Weissthor at 11,851, and Plantamour makes the highest 
point between the Cima and Monte Eosa 11,862 (^Mesures 
hypsometriques,'' page 5). 

The day was still before us, the sky almost cloudless, and 
there was no occasion for hurry, so we strolled leisurely 
down, halting every now and then, and at 2.30 reached the 
Eiffel, and Zermatt shortly afterwards. The total time 
was thirteen hours, during only nine of which, however, we 



68 



were actually en route. I have made no allusion to the 
view from the summit, because, being extremely similar to 
that from the Cima, it is familiar to most mountaineers.* 

On the 21st we lounged vigorously, strolling up to the 
Eiffel in the evening accompanied by another English- 
man who had designs upon the Cima for the next day, 
whilst we were bound for the Lyskamm, or some similar 
ascent, Kronig, however, whom he had engaged, was 
anxious to be with us if anything of a novel description 
was in hand, and his employer gradually catching the 
infection, it was soon settled that we should not sepa- 
rate. 

At 12.20 on the morning of the 22nd, we got away 
in glorious moonlight, — and following our tracks of that 
day week, reached, for the second time, the Lys Joch at 
7.40, having had shade up to seven o'clock. The wind was 

* Later in the season Professor Tyndall effected the passage of the Old 
Weissthor from Macugnaga to Zermatt, accompanied as usual by Bennen, 
and has given an interesting account of the expedition in his ' Mountaineer- 
ing in 1861.' On this occasion, however, the' direction of the Filar instead 
of that of the Jazi glacier was chosen for the attack. The ice appears to 
have been soon quitted for the ridge of rocks to the N., by which the 
summit was gained after a most exciting climb of four hours. At times it 
seemed as though further progress were impossible, and Bennen would 
pause in discouragement ; but this was only momentary, and returning to 
the charge their efforts were ultimately crowned with success. It is 
dangerous to criticise the proceedings of two such veteran climbers, but I 
would venture to hint that their proficiency as cragsmen may have led to 
their preferring the rocks to the adjacent couloir or slopes of snow and ico, 
and that these last would possibly have afforded greater facilities whilst 
involving less risk. 



AND ASCENT OF THE SIGNALKUPPE. 69 

blowing a gale, and after a carefnl examination it was 
decided that the long arete of the Lyskamm, narrow enough 
at the best of times but now heaped up and rolling over 
with the fresh and uncompacted snow, was not to be 
thought of under the circumstances. Some of the party 

were already suffering from the cold, and poor Mr. 

having neglected to provide himself with properly nailed 
boots, was constantly performing eccentric manoeuvres, the 
most successful of which consisted of a pas cle deux with 
Kronig, who, in his endeavours to hold up his slippery 
employer, invariably came in for a share of his misfortunes. 
Before, however, finally giving in, we worked our way for 
a distance of some few hundred yards towards the Lys- 
kamm, and then halted in a slightly sheltered depression 
of the ridge to secure a second breakfast and decide 
where we should next bend our steps. Eemembering 
that, under similar circumstances, Mr. Stephen had made 
a dash at the Zumstein Spitze, I at length suggested 
that we should attack the Signalkuppe, which, so far as I 
know, had never been ascended before from the Zermatt, 
and only once from the southern, side, when in 1842 
Grnifetti, cure of Alagna, arrived with seven companions 
on the summit, after three ineffectual attempts in previous 
years. No sooner said than set about, and at 8.30 we 
were once more in movement. At 8.45 the Lys Joch was 
again reached, and gently ascending over the great Plateau, 
or ' Krone,' between the Zumstein, Signal, Parrot, and 



"0 PASSAGE OF THE OLD WEISSTHOR, 

Ludwig, summits of Monte Kosa, we soon found ourselves 
at the foot of the final pull. This was rapid, but by 
making first for a sort of snowy saddle connecting the 
Zumstein Spitze and Signalkuppe, we avoided the steepest 
places, and, the snow being besides in excellent order, 
there was no sort of difficulty. 

If, however, poor Mr. had been in trouble before, 

he was here fairly posed ; Kronig was knocked down so 
many times as to cause anxious reflections on the probable 
state of his knees, and at one time we had serious thoughts 
of abandoning our unlucky comrade to his fate. He, how- 
ever, struggled so gallantly, was so perfectly good-tempered, 
laughed so heartily at every fresh capsize, and showed such 
innate pluck and vigour, that we could not allow him to 
fall a victim to his defective shoeing, especially as we had 
persuaded him to attempt what otherwise would never 
have entered his head. What, however, with laughter, 
blustering wind, and driving snow, it was not easy, with 
the best intentions, to know how to assist him ; but at 
length, leaving Bennen and Perm free to cut or pound 
steps, and Kronig to bring up the rear and pick up his 
Herr as often as was needful, we three fairly put our- 
selves in the traces, and by main force dragged our helpless 
friend sometimes on his back, sometimes on his face, now 
on one side, and now on the other, but always up-hill, as 
far as the rocks just below the summit, where he at once 
found his legs again. It was 10.15 when the summit of 




/ 



Down again 



AND ASCENT OF THE SIGNALKUPPE. 7 J 

the Signalkuppe was gained, and ample was the reward. 
We could now look over the Lyskamm, which we over- 
topped by 75 feet, the altitudes being respectively (ac- 
cording to the Federal engineers) 14,964 and 14,889 feet. 
This I can confirm to a certain extent by an observation 
taken on our way back, with a portable level which, after I 
had descended what I estimated to be 50 or 60 feet, 
showed the Lyskamm to be still slightly below my station. 
The wind blew furiously, but the sun shone out, and the 
thermometer, sheltered behind the rock, indicated as high 
a temperature as 1° C ( = 33°.8 Fahr). Nothing, however, 
is less to be relied on than the readings of this instrument 
in determining what I may perhaps call the amount of 
sensational or physiological cold, and by the time I had 
secured a sympiesometer observation, obtained a specimen 
of the summit, and had a good look at the glorious view, 
it was voted that ' this house do adjourn.' Of the view I 
need not speak here, as in its general features it resembles 
that from the Hochste Spitze, differing from it, however, 
in one remarkable particular. To those who are familiar 
with the atlas to the Schlagintweits' work it is well known 
that the Signalkuppe, the fourth in height of the sum- 
mits of Monte Eosa, stands at the point where the chain 
makes a sudden bend, the north arm comprising the 
Nordend, Hochste Spitze, and Zumstein Spitze, whilst the 
southern includes the Parrotspitze, Ludwigshohe, Schwarz- 
horn, Balmenhorn, and Vincentpyramide. The direction 

F 2 



72 

of the former is N. 20° W., of the latter S. 13° W. The 
Signalkuppe is thus the salient of a very obtuse bastion 
whose N.E. and S.W. faces command respectively the 
Vals Anzasca and Sesia, whilst to the N.W. its reverse 
rakes, between the Lyskamm and Hochste Spitze, the 
entire length of the Gorner glacier, and on the S.W. the 
basin of the Lys glacier and the lower portion of the 
Val de Lys. In fact it is, as a glance at the map will 
show, the real nucleus of the whole system, which has as it 
were crystallised out from it, and it will be at once seen 
that this gives it great advantages as a point of view. 
The Hochste Spitze of course conceals a certain portion of 
the horizon ; much less, however, than might be supposed, 
for as far as my memory serves me, the Dom, Taschhorn, 
and other summits between them and the Nordend are the 
only important absentees, and these happen to be less in- 
teresting features perhaps than most in the panorama. 
The Zumstein is projected against the Hochste Spitze and 
the lateral deviation of the Nordend is not sufficient to 
cause much loss. At 10.30 we commenced the descent, 
and after several halts amounting in all to one hour, and 
some little difficulties caused by masked crevasses into 
which one or other of the party was constantly sinking 
through the now soft snow, we reached the Eiffel at five, 
and strolled down to Zermatt in the evening, well satisfied 
on the whole with the turn affairs had taken, though of 
course there was a tinge of disappointment at having ' shot 



AND ASCENT OF THE SIGNALKUPPE. 73 

at a pigeon and killed a crow,' aimed at the Lyskamm and 
struck the Signalkuppe. * Non omnes ovinia possumus,' 
and so the pleasure of vanquishing the Lyskamm was 
reserved for future comers. Who they were I need not 
say, as an account of the expedition will be found in the 
first volume of the second series of ' Peaks, Passes, and 
Glaciers,' but I may be allowed to terminate this paper 
with warm and hearty congratulations on their success. 



SKETCHES 



BERCHTESGADEN AND THE ZILLERTHAL. 



' 'Tis best, where'er we are, to follow still 
The customs of the country.' 

Plumptre's Sophocles. 

' When many a merry tale and many a song 
Cheer'd the rough road, we wish'd the rough road long : 
The rough road then, returning in a round, 
Mock'd our enchanted steps, for all was fairy ground.' 

Johnson. 



SKETCHES FROM BERCHTESGADEN AND THE 
ZILLER-THAL. 



COMPAEATIVELY few English travellers know the 
charm of an ear]y spring in the mountains. People 
who have been living through an Italian winter are eager 
to cross as quickly as possible into more familiar regions, 
and reach town for the season, and a few hours in a 
lumbering vetturino, with some shivering comments on 
the chilly blasts that sweep down upon them as they hurry 
over the St. Grothard or the Brenner, are all they reaHse 
of Alpine life in their passage ; and yet never in the whole 
year is that world of mountain and river, wood and snow, 
half so beautiful. 

Ce joli mois de Mai ! It brings sunshine and warmth 
and gladness in its hand, loosening the frozen streams, 
and sending them down with great leaps of gladness white 
from the glaciers that gave them birth, melting the snow- 
mantle that has kept the tender plants and roots warmly 
covered from the frost, and wakening them with smiles 
and promises of summer : so that bare hill-sides that 
looked grim and desolate with snow half melted in dirty 
brown patches, are covered in a few hours with a radiancy 



78 SKETCHES FROM BEKCHTESGADEN AND 

of colour and bloom and sweetness, as the blossoms creep 
out into the sunshine, and birds are singing and insects 
humming their thanksgivings in a very jubilation of 
honeyed delight. The world seems young again, fresh 
and rested after its winter sleep, the roads have not grown 
white with the accumulated dust of summer, and the 
noonday heat which will bring headaches to weary August 
travellers is still an unknown misery; the days are long, 
with bright sunrises and sunsets, and there is a frosty 
feeling in tbe air which is wonderfully exhilarating ; and 
though the mountains be, many of them, only six or seven 
thousand feet high, you believe in perpetual snow as you 
see peak after peak gleaming sharply against the clear 
blue of the sky, and forget measurements and theodolites 
and any scientific assertions, taking it all on trust as un- 
rivalled in grandeur and sublimity. The dark pine-woods 
clothe the sides of the hills, and everywhere there is a 
soft veil of greenery where larch and beech put out their 
golden buds and light up the spaces between the fir- 
shadows like veritable sunshine. 

The still deep lakes of Tyrol, very small for the most 
part, have wonderful colours in their depths — emerald and 
ultramarine and gorgeous purple, as though Here loved 
them, and had made them beautiful with reflections from 
peacocks' wings and breasts unseen by mortals ; or possibly 
in later times, when German faerieland had supplanted 
old Olympus, the gnomes had sunk shafts and mined out 



THE ZILLER-TIIAL. 79 

galleries, piling stores of jewels and brilliant ore, and 
done a great business while shares were at a premium, 
till suddenly the world lost faith in them, treated them 
altogether as a myth, poor little elves, and so, finding the 
mine at a discount, they being not more than mortals, 
even a little less so in the matter of temper, let in the 
water and disappeared from the earth. 

Writing of the spring as it ought to be in Tyrol, and 
as we found it during many happy weeks, it is only fair 
to state that, in the year of grace 1866, the seasons were 
a little behindhand, and somehow the frost held its own 
in an unconscionable manner ; and there are disadvantages 
in travelling in a country where visitors only come in with 
the late vegetables, and no blankets are kept! We con- 
soled ourselves with philosophy; but facts are stern things, 
and it is difficult to believe that ' whatever is is right ' with 
the thermometer at 17°, and when you have to sleep in a 
German bed with one sheet and a duvet three feet square 
as your only defence against the cold. Certainly there 
are degrees of misery, and we were by no means at the 
lowest ; but if the wind had not changed, and the frost 
had held, and we had journeyed far enough, we might 
have found ourselves in that outlying district where the 
cold was so intense that men's words froze as they were 
uttered, and conversation could only be resumed with the 
thaw in the spring ! 

We reached Berchtesgaden on the 22nd of May, in rather 



80 SKETCHES FROM BERCHTESGADEN AND 

a bad humour, after a long wet drive from Reichenhall, 
and found that pleasantest of summer haunts ostentatiously 
preparing for warm weather and the butterflies it was 
to bring, and ignoring any poor strangers who might be 
6 frozen out,' and needing warmth and comfort and shelter. 
Our tired horses dragged us along the broad high-road 
past many pretty chalets with cool green jalousies and 
shady arbours, but all hermetically sealed and guiltless of 
smoke or human habitant, past Konig Max's villa, also 
shuttered and barred and silent, past plashing fountains, 
the very thought of which made one shiver with a dire 
foreboding that we might have made a terrible mistake, 
and that we were there too soon ; on, with weary hoof 
splashing through the mud and sleepy driver nodding in 
the rain, till suddenly the Kutscher was smiling wide-eyed 
and wide-awake in a moment, and proving it by vigorous 
snappings of his whip. There was a quickening of the 
pace, a feeble demonstration of having done the last ten 
miles in an hour, and being a little blown in consequence, 
which imposed on nobody, and with a sudden jerk and 
rattle we drew up at the Hotel zum Watzmann, at the 
entrance of the little town. There was a big brown church 
opposite, a sound of sweet voices chaunting, and wreaths 
of greenery all over the inn-door, where people were 
standing in a state of suppressed excitement, and a little 
Oberkellner, like a puppet on wires — the sole marionnette 
of a theatre opened before its troupe had been made 



THE ZILLER-THAL. 81 

ready, and with all the strings throughout the establish- 
ment attached to his small individuality, — who rushed to 
open our carriage-door, precipitating himself upon a bundle 
of cloaks with a vociferous welcome. 

' Yes, the Herr had been there — the rooms were ready, 
the Herr had himself selected them. We were fortunate 
in our arrival — as, being the only guests, we could choose 
what pleased us. Just now, it was true, there were people, 
but that was only a wedding — one or two hundred of the 
peasants who would sup there, and there would be a dance. 
Could the Fraulein see them ? Yes, surely — and dance 
also — there would be music : they were singing now, they 
were in the church over there, having already feasted. 
Later they would drink again, and the Damen should see 
the bride. There were the rooms : were the Damen satis- 
fied?' 

And so up the stairs and into the bright little chambers 
he hurried us ; keeping up a ceaseless flow of talk, with 
much of hand-rubbing, — the cloaks being deposited, — 
and little hasty runs through different doors, and busy di- 
rections to a quiet, slow, handsome Kellnerin who smiled 
her welcome and hastened to make us comfortable. Such 
fresh, clean, pretty rooms they were, gay with muslin 
curtains and green jalousies, crimson cushions on the 
window-siDs, floors polished with much scrubbing, downy 
pink- striped coverlets, a sofa and the little round table, 
with its red cloth, to make believe we had a salon, and a 



82 SKETCHES FROM BERCHTESGADEN AND 

great white earthenware stove filling up a quarter of the 
room, and looking as though many hours and more faggots 
would be needed before any warmth could penetrate its 
icy smoothness. It was impossible to resist the friendly 
welcome, the promise of dinner at the moment, and a 
dance afterwards, the hesitating request that we would 
graciously eat in a small room adjoining, the Speisesaal 
being occupied by the bridal party. We thawed at once : 
fraternised with the waiter, with the chambermaid, with 
the whole establishment ; threw ourselves heart and soul 
into the interests of the moment, and determined to enjoy 
the fun. It was freezing hard — about that there could be 
no mistake — and the little salon was two-thirds window 
and guiltless of a fireplace. We ate and shivered and 
listened to F.'s histories of his morning. He having 
preceded us on foot and arrived in time for the whole 
ceremony, and having witnessed sundry libations, was 
sceptical of the feasibility of our sharing even as spec- 
tators in the evening celebrations ; but by this time the 
cold had become so intense, that his account of the big- 
room with its warmth and light and many people, even 
with the tobacco-smoke, sounded welcome, and we ventured 
in, taking up a safe position near the door. 

The scene was wonderfully picturesque and full of 
interest; the people enjoyed themselves so thoroughly, 
with such happy light-hearted merriment, with such 
earnest good-will, and the throng of glad faces, honest 



THE ZILLER-THAL. 83 

hard-working men and women, strong and sturdy, was 
a pleasant sight to see. The men were tall, well-grown 
fellows, with handsome sun-burnt faces, with gay-coloured 
braces crossed over their white shirts — for there was hardly 
a jacket to be seen in the crowd, the dancing was too 
much in earnest for the carrying of any needless weight 
— and wearing high- crowned hats, grey or black, some 
with the broad green band of the Salzkammergut, all 
with feathers — white Lammergeier, black Auerhahn,g\ossy 
and curled — a bunch of flowers, or a tassel, green or silver. 
The women were in dark brown or black garments, hang- 
ing in heavy folds half-way below the knee, the bodice 
relieved with dainty chemisette or gay- coloured kerchief 
matching the brilliant apron, the hair glossy and braided, 
the dancers in green wreaths. One or two maidens who 
might, perhaps, aspire to belong to a higher class than 
the peasants around them, wore flowing white robes, with 
trains that mournfully recalled Western civilisation. 

Down one side of the room sat the men and matrons, — 
house-fathers gossiping together over the weather and the 
crops, and clinking beer-glasses ; the mothers, with mild 
quiet faces and steadfast eyes shining out under the shade 
of their broad hats, with kind glances at the younger life 
around them, and pleasant smiles over the bright faces so 
innocently happy, and whispered reminders of past days 
and other Brautfests, and of their own old romances. 
G-ood souls, they looked quiet and patient, as though 



84 SKETCHES FROM BERCHTESGADEN AND 

through somewhat of sorrow and hard work, and blessed 
home jo} r s and cares, they had kept their hearts fresh like 
a deep still pool made bright by the reflections from 
others' sunshine, and glad with little ripples of their own 
content, sending out rivers to barren places, and fed by 
streams from other lives, which, whether sweet or bitter, 
mingled with their own and made them more complete. 
There is something wonderfully touching in the faces of 
these German mothers — they look so good and hard- 
working and thrifty, though often so very poor, as though 
they might tell you sad stories of Hans being a Wildschiitz, 
and Jacob far too much given to quarrels over the 
Branntwein, and that they and the little cows had to do 
all the work, yet the good Grod gave His blessing, and the 
Heine had never wanted for bread. 

But all this time the dancing was going on fast and 
furious, till the great beams swung again, and the boards 
rose and fell with the hurrying feet. A little old man, the 
master of the ceremonies, worked himself almost into a fit 
in his excitement and eagerness. Standing in the centre 
of the room he shouted and stamped in time to the music, 
despotically marshalling his dancers, giving his orders 
right and left with vehement clappings, wiping his heated 
brows at every pause, and swallowing beer from many 
glasses hospitably held out for his acceptance. 

We made our way through the throng to one corner 
wliere the bride and bridegroom were seated solemnly 



THE ZILLER-THAL. 85 

drinking. We had all to shake hands, with hearty good 
wishes, and to pledge them in some very sour liquid, like 
steel filings on edge, diluted with vinegar. They were of 
the peasant farmer class, neither very young. The man 
tall and ungainly, working off his awkwardness in offers 
of beer, and looking uncomfortably conscious of his long- 
tailed coat and heavy hat, which, as full dress, was de 
rigueur on the occasion. The bride was by no means 
pretty, but she spoke happily of their little cottage on the 
hills, and tried to do her part by asking the gentlemen to 
dance, and quietly accepting their apologies, thanking us 
for coming to them, and then relapsing into that stolid 
calm which nature and constant association with their 
dumb beasts teaches them, and which civilisation has 
improved into the apathy of perfect good-breeding ! 

The dancing was perfect, the men changing their 
partners in the middle of a waltz without losing a step. 
The fiddlers played faster and faster as the dancers flew 
round the room. Some danced by themselves, not to lose 
a moment, leaping into the air, snapping their fingers, and 
jodeling in very gladness of heart. We had a store of 
magnesium-wire and coloured lights, and our father flung 
the bright blazing papers among them amidst bursts of 
ecstatic wonder and delight. They all showed us the 
greatest respect and hospitality, and one very ugly old 
man, probably thinking our feelings might be hurt if 
we were altogether passed over, suggested, ' Possibly the 



86 SKETCHES FROM BERCHTESGADEN ASD 

Fraulein will dance ? ' and on our professing ignorance of 
the figures, met the difficulty graciously with * Perhaps, 
then, a cotillon ? ' 

At last, leaving them to their revels, we retreated to our 
rooms, but not to sleep ; the noise across the passage was 
deafening. When the bridal pair left about midnight, the 
band preceded them downstairs, and all the guests followed 
two and two, cheering and jodeling as they drove off in 
an Einspanner for their mountain chalet. And then came 
more dancing and more noise ; and if any one had been 
so unreasonable as to keep awake and listen to heavy 
bodies falling downstairs, and the other slight confusions 
attending their departure, possibly their views of the piety 
and thrift and simple habits of these poor Bauem might 
have been modified, with a dreamy sense that the good 
and the evil has drifted pretty equally over the world we 
live in, and that men are not necessarily better because 
they live nearer the heavens, and breathe rarefied air. 

No words can describe the charm of this small Bavarian 
settlement, as we saw it again in the warmth and bright- 
ness of the later spring. A little hamlet nestling under 
the shelter of the hills, the houses springing up here and 
there as though self-sown, and seeming to grow by nature 
among orchard trees and flowers : far away, like a fair 
ribbon flung upon the grass, the river flows, now soft 
green, now palest blue, as it glimmers into shade or sun- 
shine, an old church with a rude brown tower makes a 







7 






\ \ 




M 



wife 



r' 







-V 



THE ZILLER-THAL. 87 

pleasant bit of warm colouring amongst the white home- 
steads and grey-roofed little cottages, and is apparently 
well loved by the peasants, who congregate there and 
chant their psalms and hymns with a strong goodwill and 
earnestness of purpose that makes up somewhat for lack 
of melody in the notes, leaving the stiff old Dora Kirche, 
with its two iron-coloured extinguisher steeples, to the 
slow work of renovation which scaffolding and bricks and 
mortar show us is still going on within. The ground rises 
from the river on either side, here in soft undulations, 
there in more abrupt slopes thickly wooded, and dotted 
with a few boulders and great mossy mountain stones. 
The fields of corn and barley wave in the wind, that is just 
strong enough to rustle the stems and turn a fresh side of 
the drooping ears to the sunshine, the meadows are all 
ready for the harvest, waiting in the sweet Sunday quiet 
for the morrow's dew, and the glad ring of the scythe 
as the peasants gather to their work ; now for one more 
evening there is a glow of colour on the grass, where 
purple Campanulas make a soft light like a pool of still 
water, and Forget-me-not and golden Bartsia and deep 
crimson Eose-Campion and dark-brown blossoms, great 
white Marguerites, and flowers, yellow, -and lilac, and 
crimson, sweet-scented pansies, and pale fair lilies form a 
lovely garden world, where Titania and all her fairies might 
walk under the shelter of green leaves and drink their 

G 



88 SKETCHES FROM BERCHTESGADEN AND 

draughts of dewy nectar, each from a freshly-coloured 
cup, and sleep afterwards as intoxicated with the sweet- 
ness as the bees who hum their lazy bacchanals around 
them. 

The lower hills are clothed with woods to their summits, 
and under the shade of the firs and beeches, winding paths 
are tracked out in the moss and built up with branches 
of pines. Climbing ever higher over the soft carpet of 
twigs and fallen leaves, where the sunshine through the 
branches above makes a chequered pattern, and picks out 
little red lights in the tree-stems to delight your eyes,-.you 
reach the open again, and far away rises the grand old 
Watzmann, a giant with a solemn snow crown, who looks 
down rather grimly on Titania and the flowers, and mere 
humans, and the follies and littlenesses of the world 
beneath him. His great rugged sides have wonderful 
violet shadows in their depths, and a soft purple mist is 
wound about him like a mantle : there is a divine smile 
on his head where the parting sun touches it with its 
radiance, a glow that deepens and lives there when the 
world is cold and dark, wondrously beautiful, as though 
when we had lost the light, the glory from the very 
heaven shone upon and blessed it. 

We spent a long quiet Sunday in that pleasant country 
life, hastening down from the higher pastures to our 
little inn as the shadows deepened under the dark pine 
woods, giving them a new and silent charm. 



THE ZILLER-THAL. 89 

• Nor moon, nor stars were out : 
They did not dare to tread so soon about, 
Though trembling, in the footsteps of the sun ; 
The light was neither night's nor day's, but one 
"Which lifelike had a beauty in its doubt.' 

Of all the pleasant excursions for which Berchtesgaden 
is the best of headquarters, there is none more charming 
than the hour's drive to the Konig-see, and a day spent 
on its waters. Its great beauty consists in the grandeur 
of the cliffs, which rise to a height of two or three 
thousand feet, towering up abruptly from its margin, so 
that only here and there a little shelving bank is to be 
found on which a human foot can tread ; the trees spring 
out of the rocks wherever a root can cling, and cast dark 
green shadows into the depths below. Very pleasantly 
the hours pass as you sit in the high -pro wed boat, rowed 
by some sturdy damsel in gold-tasselled hat and velvet 
bodice, and if you reach the head of the lake a walk 
across a strip of barren ground will bring you to the 
Obersee, a deep still pool lying in a cup of bare limestone 
rock, and worth a visit for the sake of its weird loveliness. 
Very early one morning we drove to the shore of the 
Konig-see ; the world was just astir. The birds were 
hunting for their breakfasts, and labourers hastening to 
their work. In a little wood, we came suddenly upon a 
group of men under the trees, standing with bare heads 
reverently bowed, their tools lying on the ground beside 
the trees they had felled the latest. We exclaimed, 

G 2 



90 SKETCHES FROM BERCHTESGADEN AND 

astonished at the sight, ' Sie sind in Grebete begriffen.' 
'Fraulein,' answered our Kutscher, f it is Monday, and 
they wait to ask a blessing on their work. It is the 
custom,' he added, giving a little commenting shake to 
the reins as our horses turned a corner. 

The whole district is a little piece of Bavaria, ceded by 
the Congress of Vienna as a hunting ground for its princes, 
with whom it has always been a favourite resort. Old 
King Liidwig, who was a greater sportsman than his suc- 
cessors, spent many days in a queer chateau or Jagdschloss 
on the borders of the Konig-see, and there is a gloomy old 
palace built amongst the houses in Berchtesgaden, besides 
the beautiful new Villa Max upon the hill, behind which 
thick woods rise abruptly with country houses half hidden 
in their shade, and wood walks cunningly devised with 
openings cut out among the trees, and seats for weary 
explorers, and here and there, at a sudden turn of the 
path, the inevitable little chalet, with wood carvings for 
sale, and other signs of the Philistines and predatory civili- 
sation, only redeemed by the exceeding beauty of hill and 
valley which bursts upon you as an ever fresh delight. 
We rejoiced in the sense that we were there before the 
arrival of the season and the monde, the hot weather 
and gay dresses, when the shutters were hardly taken 
down from the wood-carver's shops, when there were no 
stalls of photographs in our path, and the blind beggars, 
and the beggars with no arms, and the parents of large 







iL i 



airy 



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h* 



((l ////cV/ 






.'.ftfiT < 



)8 unci Dauita ! 



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THE ZILLER-THAL. 91 

families of young beggars, who were taking kindly to the 
ancestral business, had not yet established themselves in 
their summer hunting grounds. 

During our five or six days at Berchtesgaden we spent 
many pleasant hours exploring the wood walks for fresh 
views of the snow-covered mountain whose great jagged 
peaks watched over the village below, or driving to the 
beautiful Konig-see, where we rowed lazily over the water, 
watching the long still shadows of the rocks, or landing to 
visit some cascade hidden in their clefts ; spending quiet 
dreamy hours in the sunshine, sitting in a sheltered nook 
in the higher meadows, with work and books and painting, 
and a tinkling accompaniment of cow-bells, and far away 
great snow-slopes growing into violet shadows as the sun 
sank lower in the west ; or discovering little out-of-the- 
way homesteads, where we made friends with the kind 
peasants, and heard their stories of good fortune or pri- 
vation, admired the babies, and bought bowls full of 
sweet new milk, for now the cold weather had come sud- 
denly to an end, changing into the perfection of warm 
noonday, with just a cheery thought of frost morning 
and evening that kept the snow upon the hills. 

£. * * . # #- •* 

As the evening of a wet day in June was closing in, we 
drew near the little village of Krimml. Having parted 
from F. at Hallstadt, and seen him start with a country 
guide and his trusty Aimer for ten days in the mountains, 



92 SKETCHES FROM BERCHTESGADEN AND 

and taken leave of our father at Salzburg — where he left 
us to return home — we four ladies, with the carriage and 
horses which we had already employed in our drive from 
Ischl, arranged to travel under Walther's* good care over 
the Hirschbiihl, rejoining F. at Krimml, and spending 
a few days together in the Ziller-thal. For the last 
twenty-four hours the weather had been the only drawback 
to enjoyment; all the morning the rain had poured down 
in chilly showers, which grew only colder and mistier as 
the dsij wore on. 

There was little traffic on the road, and few or no guests 
at the inns at this early season, except, as ever, the crowd 
of peasants in the Stube ; and when we halted for a meal 
we had much pleasant gossip with the honest-faced 
Wirthins or sturdy Kellnerins, who watched us as we ate, 
and were delighted to sit for their portraits, and receive 
some little books from England, or a Trinkgeld, and a 
compliment on their pretty faces and ready kindliness. 
At Zell am Zee, where we halted for the night, we found 
ourselves in the old familiar inn of German idyls : the 
wainscoted walls and wooden tables and benches shining 
with cleanliness and much rubbing ; the rooms large and 
low, with great beams supporting the ceiling, and broad 
windows with tiny panes ; crucifixes, little cups for holy 
water, a faded wreath before some sacred picture deco- 

* Bartholome Walther, of Pontresina, one of the best guides of the 
Engadine. 



THE ZILLER-THAL. 93 

rating the walls. But these touches of higher grace and 
art were generally reserved for the bedrooms — the grand 
apartments of the house, often of enormous size, two-thirds 
window, gay with roses and sweet-scented stocks, with a 
huge black stove filling up one corner, and beds, piled 
high with bright cotton duvets and wadded counterpanes, 
sheets of homespun linen, coarse and white, with broad- 
laced edgings to the towels and pillows, the orthodox stiff 
German sofa and inevitable cabinet, behind whose glass- 
doors reposed the heirlooms of the house — old china, quaint 
cups and mugs and vases, dear to the good Wirthin's 
heart, silver-handled knives and forks, glass and crockery 
of every kind ; and on the higher shelves, a crowd of tinsel 
ornaments, bouquets, toys, wreaths for festivals, gold and 
silver pins — each relic, great or worthless, priceless no 
doubt to those good hearts, and rich in tender recollections: 
the bridal flowers of her happy wedding morning — dear 
soul, though stout and old, and seamed a little by the 
winters that had passed her by, there had been a spring 
too for her once, rich in all love and promise. There were 
the toys that little hands had played with — perhaps most 
precious because the eager fingers may have been folded 
once so quietly they never broke that stillness. There, 
too, the nosegay the young daughter had carried at her 
first communion, and many treasures, gay little pictures of 
saints, with flowers, and lace-paper, and legends, very like 
an ecclesiastical valentine, and with just the same tender 



94 SKETCHES FROM BERCHTESGADEN AND 

little meanings insinuating themselves under the angelic 
wings, bought, as they may have been, at a country-fair 
by some great shy Pinzgauer for that blue-eyed maiden 
who waited on us below with the large silver spoon stuck 
into her bodice, and her name, Marie, or Ursula, or Filo- 
mena, embroidered on her broad belt. 

We had left Mittersill with many forebodings as to the 
weather. The clouds were as low as they could well be to 
be clouds at all, and they very soon changed into a drizzle, 
and then came down in good earnest. So we pulled up at 
the roadside, and Walther and the coachman built up a 
close carriage carefully bit by bit, like a Chinese puzzle, 
taking out doors and windows and cross-pieces from some 
hidden receptacle in a truly marvellous and inexhaustible 
manner. The puzzle, when finished, was not a perfect 
fit; and we were glad to make cushions of our cloaks, 
which comfortably imbibed the moisture, whilst we maple 
ourselves merry with riddles and stories and talk — the 
country being unenlivening, a great extent of flat marshy 
land and grass-fields where numbers of young horses were 
feeding, with a few stray houses and one or two villages. 
In many of the fields the poor people were kneeling in 
rows in the wet corn or rye, busily weeding, and laying up 
a store of rheumatic twinges for every half-dozen roots 
they succeeded in extracting, to say nothing of the havoc 
made among the green blades. 

As the day wore on the clouds lifted, and in the sunlight 



THE ZILLER-THAL. 95 

we saw the Gross Venediger crowned with snow. Gradually 
the valley narrowed, and we drove into a kind of cul-de- 
sac, the little village of Krimml lying before us, and a 
glorious great waterfall, one thousand feet high, breaking 
through a cleft in the rock. The mountains looked very 
unpromising, and the weather scarcely less so, as the 
clouds again covered the hills, showing us here and 
there through their rents black dismal rocks and deep 
snow over which our path lay for the morrow. The inn 
was the roughest we had yet encountered. A ladder- 
like staircase led up from the darkness below to a vast 
damp landing ; the boarded walls seemed exuding 
moisture, and the rain and damp fog entered at will 
through the great openings at either end : no woman 
was to be seen, and no one, apparently, to make us 
welcome, or at all prepared for the arrival of guests. A 
rough old landlord, begrimed with accumulated dirt of 
the past winter, and smoked and seasoned by the fumes of 
his own pipe, which was never out of his mouth, at last 
came to our relief, and took us under his protection. 
'The Herr had not arrived, but his portmanteau was 
there, and no doubt he would appear shortly, and mean- 
while we could see the rooms.' On opening a door into a 
spacious chamber matters began to look more promising. 
We at once prepared to take possession and make things 
comfortable, ordered everything eatable the house con- 
tained, lit the candles on the round table, and provided a 



96 SKETCHES FROM BERCHTESGADEN AND 

famous brew of tea to welcome F. and Aimer when they 
should arrive, probably wet and weary. 

While D. ran to the kitchen with the teapot, E. hunted 
out the salt, when a cry from Mrs. C. arrested them, as 
she stood gazing at them in blank despair, unable after 
the first scream to utter a word. Slowly they drew 
from her the direful truth, — the rain had penetrated 
her carpet-bag, and during the journey her precious 
possessions had been literally floating in soft water. 
As they extracted the moist masses, her companions sug- 
gested the evident wisdom of at once drying them ; and 
making up a bundle of her garments, she hastened in 
search of a kitchen and a fire ; but encountering the old 
Wirth, was hurried by him into the Stube, where a group 
of sympathetic and much interested peasants, busy with 
their pipes, offered to smoke the clothes for her ! Indig- 
nantly rejecting their proposal, she was conducted to the 
kitchen, and propitiated by the sight of a good fire in 
the broad stove and the alacrity with which mine host 
assisted her to string her possessions on a long spit, which 
was afterwards suspended over the blaze, and turned till 
they were sufficiently done. 

Calmness being restored, we settled down to our Abend- 
essen, but with rather sad hearts, waiting hour after hour 
for F., who never came. E. and C. went to their room 
and vainly endeavoured to sleep. Ten, eleven o'clock, and 
no arrival! Sometimes they would be startled by a 








/. . . / 

Cromg clawnsrouAa in. flL t BeTC"vva.f 



THE ZILLER-THAL. 97 

footstep stamping up the stairs, as one of the herdsmen 
climbed to his nest amongst the rafters. E. always 
suffered from chronic anxiety during F.'s absences, and 
the attack became violent whenever he ceased to appear 
at the expected moment. C. declares that she was not 
the least uneasy till E. worked her up to a proper state of 
misery; but this fact E. doubts. It was dismal enough 
lying sleepless in the cold gaunt room, listening to the 
rain beating against the windows, and the wind howling 
round the lonely house, or eagerly looking at their watches 
by the dim light of a little candle, to see how many hours 
still lay between them and the possibly dread uncertainties 
of the morning. 

Suddenly a shrill old bell gave a clang, and steps were 
heard and voices, and the anxious watching passed away 
into a happy dreamless sleep. 

Very merry was the breakfast, making up for all the 
shortcomings of the night before. F. recounted his ad- 
ventures, and we watched the gathering of men and horses 
below the window. Much could not be said for the 
weather ; but if there were no distant views, there was a 
very picturesque foreground to clouds and mist as our little 
party wound up the steep wood-path and over the grassy 
hill-side above ; we four ladies on horseback endeavour- 
ing, as far as we were able, to protect ourselves from the 
pitiless rain, and exchanging merry talk and jokes with F. 
and the guides, who made the poor beasts rest every three 



98 SKETCHES FROM BERCHTESGADEN AND 

minutes, much to our discomfort, as their backs were 
nearly at an angle of forty-five degrees ! A pause at an 
Almhiitte, where some great bowls of delicious milk were 
brought to us, and then we pressed on, our steeds slipping 
and stumbling for the next hour along a track, in reality 
a succession of deep hollows betweeD short wet turf, half 
black bog, half holes and large stones, so that we were glad 
to dismount and trudge through water and soaked grass 
till we reached a more level road ; but any after attempt 
at riding made us so unpleasantly conscious of being wet 
through, at least as to our feet, that we were glad to run 
again to warm ourselves, and joyfully hailed the little 
inn at Grerlos, where we changed and dried our clothes 
over the kitchen-fire. The cloaks and rugs were hung 
across a beam over the great flat stove, on which a fire 
of wood was lit, a little tripod placed over it supporting a 
saucepan or fryingpan; the men held our boots in the 
bright flame, while the Mddchen fed the fire with dry 
chips of wood from a great pile stored in one corner ; F. 
preparing a good portion of soup, with a cake of dried 
vegetables, a square a la Julienne being added to the 
stock. 

Meanwhile, two Bergivagen were being got ready, and 
the baggage stowed away. They were the worst we had 
ever seen ; the poor horses never went beyond a walk, the 
drivers tramping at their side for four long hours; and 
for these delightful vehicles the charge was sixteen 






THE ZILLER-THAL. 99 

Gulden, T>. and E. started in one, F. heading the pro- 
cession on foot. Mrs. C. and C. were established side by- 
side on the second seat of one cart, Walther and Aimer on 
the one before them. The seats were merely boards, laid 
across a long narrow trough on wheels. It was exceedingly 
difficult for two people to sit anyhow without tumbling 
off sideways, and when the paths — for road there was 
often none — led over great stones or rocks, the sight 
was ludicrous of the unhappy victims swaying from side 
to side, half shaken out, and then violently thrown back 
upon the planks, steadying themselves by the exertion 
of every muscle in their bodies, or rowing themselves along 
with enormous fir poles, with which F. supplied them. 
Half the exertion expended would have carried us on our 
feet happily to the journey's end, but having elected 
to drive, we scorned to be turned from our purpose; 
Walther and Christian soon succumbed, and unable to 
endure such an amount of exercise, prepared to walk, 
though poor Aimer was almost dead beat after his twenty- 
four hours' expedition of the previous day. 

About a quarter of an hour after our start D. and E. 
came to grief, through the loss of the linch-pin or bolt 
of their chariot, which thereupon fell in two. A little 
Wirthshaus near by fortunately boasted another trough 
upon wheels, into which they and the bags were stowed — 
the appearance they presented forcibly reminding their 
companions of one of Mr. Leech's most vivid sketches of 



100 SKETCHES FROM BERCHTESGADEN AND 

the youthful and agricultural poor taking the air in a 
clothes'-truck. The victims consider their sufferings to 
have been indescribable. 

The road was execrably bad, and often very steep, but 
full of beauty of woods and meadows in all the glory 
of spring. The path wound down the sides of a steep 
ravine, with a torrent far below breaking in white showers 
of foam over the stones and between the dark stems of the 
firs, and carrying away in its course branches freshly torn 
from the pines, red and odorous, with great jagged edges 
of brown bark, that came sweeping down, holding out 
their broken twigs like hands of drowning men, and some- 
times getting caught out in quiet little eddies, where they 
may rest for years, and weld themselves into the rich marl 
of the banks, till the moss covers them lovingly and 
flowers grow out of their heart, or a bright-eyed water-rat 
builds its nest in a soft bit of fibre. 

The sides of the wood were green with plants, luscious 
grasses, and golden lichens starred with flowers, and many 
streams crossed our path ; some so small they only made 
a bubbling in the grass, some busy and important enough 
to turn a mill and needing a wooden bridge made in 
careless fashion of loose boards, over which we jolted, 
tossed helplessly into the air by the vibration. The woods 
rang with our laughter and moans ; the stolid old driver 
giving no sign of sympathy, unless a chuckle of delight 
may be so regarded when a more fearful shock than usual 



THE ZILLER-THA.L. 101 

elicited a cry of anguish. A sort of stone staircase, which 
announced itself as part of the high road, brought matters 
to a climax. D. and E. from the safer abasement of their 
trough, looked back upon their companions. The horses 
took to the stairs as a matter of course, and the Bergivdgen 
came after, — bump ! jolt ! shriek ! creak ! stumble ! cries 
and laughter ! bump ! bump ! bump ! — the unhappy occu- 
pants holding on to each other, to their great poles, to the 
empty air, in an ecstasy of suffering and delight. 

There had been a drizzle of rain all the morning, but as 
the day advanced the clouds cleared off a little, and we 
caught sight of the lovely Ziller-thal, to which we were 
bound. We were still journeying through a thick forest, 
winding in and out on the edge of a steep slope, ending in 
a ravine, through which the river ran ; and opposite to us 
rose another wooded mountain side, clothed to its summit 
with soft green meadows, like little bits of sunshine cut out 
of the trees, and dozens of brown chalets, the lower ones the 
peasants' dwellings, the more distant, haysheds or Almhutte. 
The cattle were all in their higher pastures, and very 
sweet and Arcadian it all looked in the bright evening 
light. Grladly we hailed the emerald-green spire of the 
village church far below us : the tired - horses hastened 
forward, and we reached Zell about seven, where we were 
warmly welcomed by the very affable old Wirthin, and 
while supper was preparing thankfully rested our worn 
and weary bodies, listening later for an hour or two to 



102 SKETCHES FROM BERCHTESGADEN AND 

some pleasant Volkslieder and jodeling choruses, with a 
musical accompaniment from Zither and guitar, and a 
wonderful wooden instrument called Holzgelachter, which 
at each touch of the little sticks gave out sweet clear 
notes, indescribable, alas ! except in the thought that an 
angel in pattens was singing somewhere. And so, with 
an interchange of friendly talk and conjuring and sketch- 
books on our part, and singing from the peasants, our 
day drew to a close ; and while we slept, too soundly even 
to dream of its misadventures or fatigues, we woke to 
bright sunshine and glad plannings for another happy 
day amongst the hills. 

A late breakfast at the luxurious hour of eight, a quiet 
drive through the pleasant country in a good carriage, — 
blessed be the man who invented springs ! — a soft air 
scented with new-mown hay and crushed flowers drying 
on the high crossed poles that made the fields look full 
of great bears holding out embracing arms, or meek 
Capuchins standing with bowed heads, brought us to 
Mayrhofen, where we found a little room perched in the 
balcony, very cool and airy, with lattice-work sides, 
through which we looked down on an amusing little world 
below : fat blue-eyed children toddling about with the 
inevitable big baby, peasants resting with their cattle, 
smoking and ruminant, an investigating cow endeavouring 
to establish itself in a cosy stable, from which it was 
driven by a young Tyroler with ironical hootings, to the 



THE ZILLER-THAL. 103 

dismay of the fat children among whom it immediately 
plunged, an alarming guggle from the baby premonitory 
of a scream, bringing an anxious mother from a wash-house, 
whose sturdy arms speedily routed the enemy and restored 
peace. Our guides, who had followed us in an Einspdnner, 
appeared, elevating an alpenstock on which hung, waving 
in the breeze, ( a banner with a strange device ' in the 
shape of F.'s knickerbockers — which, having been tho- 
roughly washed during the night after his tramp down 
the mountain, had now to be dried en route. 

That ride to the Karlsteg was one never to be forgotten. 
Great rocks piled one upon another in chaotic confusion 
made the path, marked by a long slide here and there on 
the smooth stone where a hoof had begun a glissade. If 
it had been up hill or all down, one might in time have 
become reconciled to the movement, but the hillocks were 
so small that each unfortunate beast formed an arc of a 
circle, and the still more unfortunate rider was first thrown 
forward almost on its head and then jerked over the tail. 
The path was in places so narrow that though a mule could 
pass, panniers, or anything so insignificant as the feet of the 
riders, had not been taken into account. After escaping 
being crushed between the rocks in a narrow defile, with a 
sudden lunge the animal would turn a corner and stand 
panting, its foreleg slipping on a loose stone edging the 
path, and your boots hanging over a precipice. A pleasant 

H 



10 4 SKETCHES FROM BERCIITESGADEN AND 

position, truly, for those who cannot keep their seat at any- 
given angle of saddle or steed ! 

Lovely clematis with bright blue blossoms hung from 
the rocks ; the woods, as ever, were full of the sweet 
spring fragrance ; birds sung in the trees, and the torrent 
roared with a mighty voice as the masses of water fell with 
a great leap into the hissing cauldron below, and rocks 
and hill-side showed out dimly through the whirl of spray. 
It is only with an effort that the mind can so far triumph 
over matter as properly to appreciate such a scene, when 
the boots belonging to it are in the uncomfortable position 
mentioned above. 

'There is but a step from the sublime to the ridicu- 
lous,' and in the course of our travels how many bursts of 
eloquence have not been cut short by a sudden slip or 
stumble on the part of the most promising-looking steed 
or most sure-footed of humans ! 

As the echo caught the roar of the water it sent it to 
us mockingly, as though a hundred spirits of the stream 
laughed back at us, and old Kuhleborn himself might 
have grown out of the mist and steam and defied us, as 
we passed on to find the still bed of the river higher up, 
and eat and drink, and profane those quiet places by 
mortal hunger and wonderment and laughter. Pleasantly 
the old Folk-lore grows into its own surroundings, and we 
have time to muse over it as we rest idly by the water, 
sheltered from a sudden shower by the strong roof of the 



~>*< 







y^So \\\t KaxUfef ! 



THE ZILLER-TIIAL. 105 

old bridge, picturing to ourselves Undine's sweet white 
face smiling out of the spray, or fading away, pathetically 
mournful, as the wind sung her dirge through the pine- 
boughs ; and up through the gorge, as night falls and 
clouds gather black and threatening, may still come, for 
aught we know, the weird Erl Konig or the Wild Hunts- 
man and his spectral hounds. The dark hollows of these 
very rocks were full once of little gnomes and demons : 
good little gobbos. some of them, who gave dowries to 
pretty maidens, and wreaked fell judgment on prosperous 
iniquity. We had read all these stories long ago, in those 
sweet old days when everything was truth to us ; and for 
the sake of that happy time we spoke of the old myths 
reverently, sighing because we were wiser and perhaps 
somewhat sadder also. 

Soundly we slept that night in the big rooms at Zell, 
and loudly demonstrative was the good Wirthin at parting. 
We gave her a packet of our English tea — so called in 
contradistinction to the dried hay or carefully preserved 
twigs with which we had been favoured at many good 
hostelries. Her admiration of our teapot was boundless : 
she evidently regarded it as a valuable piece of family 
plate, as Mrs. C. always carried it in a chamois-leather 
case and polished it carefully each morning ; and E.'s 
statement of its having cost less than three Gulden was 
regarded as a vague anecdote totally destitute of truth, or 
too intimately connected with the conjuring of the night 

H 2 



106 SKETCHES FROM BERCHTESGADEN AND 

before, which had driven the good woman from the room 
with a cry of, e Was fur Hexerei ! ' 

We had found an officer established in the little village, 
who had made our inn his head-quarters, and was hard 
at work drilling about a hundred and fifty volunteers, 
f furlough men,' as The Times called them ; and these 
young peasants made somewhat of a thoroughfare of our 
salon on their way to and from the officer's chamber. 
There was not much attempt at regular uniforms, but 
their costumes were sufficiently picturesque, and there was 
a great gathering of plumed hats and a vast display of 
belts and rifles. We watched them being put through 
their paces, the poor fellows looking very awkward, and 
very much ashamed of themselves and of these early at- 
tempts to learn discipline. 

The distant war-thunder was growing nearer and more 
distinct every hour, but as yet no shot had been fired. 
The people everywhere seemed stolid and faithful, but 
totally without enthusiasm, and already suffering and 
privation were making themselves felt. In some of the 
higher mountain hamlets the peasants spoke to F. sadly of 
their future : — ( All our able-bodied men are taken away ; 
there is no one left to gather in the crops, and nothing 
before us but want and misery in the coming winter, how- 
ever matters may go.' At Grmunden, a town of some 
three thousand inhabitants, they told us one hundred and 
forty of their young men had been taken by the conscrip- 



THE ZILLEE-THAL. 107 

tion, and the old burger with whom we were discussing the 
aspect of affairs and the war prospect, said, with a dismal 
shrug, that as the youths had had to go, and they were 
all forced to pay so much money, he thought for his part 
their Emperor had better try a little fighting, peace could 
not do them much good now. During all the time we 
were in the country, both before and after war was declared, 
the people were in a calm and utterly unexcited state, 
sad enough truly, but knowing little and caring less for 
anything but the one fact that all the strong-handed had 
been draughted away, and that life was a hard struggle for 
those who were left, with taxation weighing them down 
heavily, and bread growing daily dearer, while the crops 
were spoiling for want of labourers in the fields. At Inns- 
bruck we saw regiment after regiment pass on to the front, 
Jager in heavy marching order travel-stained and weary, 
the soldiers in their grey greatcoats and with their slow 
tread, offering a great contrast to the little active wiry 
men we had been accustomed to see among the Italian 
sharpshooters. It was difficult to believe those good 
placid faces could ever kindle into sudden fire and energy 
when the need came ; possibly a slow match is surer in 
the end than one that spits out little flames and sparkles 
and glistens before the train is ready to be lighted. 

We saw nothing of the far-famed Austrian cavalry, but 
at every little village there were gatherings of the people 
round the inns, and drilling was going on throughout the 



108 SKETCHES FROM BETICHTESGADEN AND 

day by red-faced Unterofficieren, with much shouting and 
gesticulation ; and it was strange to meet suddenly, as we 
did one day, a detachment of artillery in a quiet bye-lane, 
kicking horses dragging a great cannon between hedges 
green with their first spring freshness, and where the 
wide-eyed peasant children stared dumb and awestruck, 
half hidden in the dust from the heavy wheels. 

There is a great deal of old Grerman life and obsolete 
custom lingering among the Tyrolers, and a quaintness in 
costume and thought and word, that in other regions has 
merged itself in the onward rush of more civilised life. 
The peasants whom you meet greet you heartily with 
1 griiss Grott,' the ordinary salutation ; or, * Grott sei dank 
fur Jesus Christus ; ' and you answer, s der fur uns gestor- 
ben ist. In Ewigkeit. Amen,' and the solemn words 
never seemed to us irreverent, but to be a part of that 
simple trustful life, though the ' griiss Grott' has grown 
into so common an address that it has almost lost its 
original significance, like the ' Grod be with you ! ' of our 
* Grood-bye ! ' These Tyrol peasants are very hospitable, 
and seem heartily glad to see travellers, and even the 
innkeepers absolutely avoid making them their prey. 
The charges for the best food and accommodation the 
inns could supply were often ludicrously small, and the 
travelling is much cheaper than in Switzerland ; strangely 
enough, we found our Swiss guides spent more than they 
would have done amongst their own mountains — and we 



THE ZILLEE-THAL. 109 

had to make them an extra allowance. The Tyroler does 
not seem to regard them as the institution they are looked 
upon as elsewhere, and they are not made welcome, as 
in their own country, for the sake of the travellers they 
bring. But for ordinary tourists who do not attempt the 
higher mountains, or require first-rate Bergfilhrer, but are 
satisfied with the local guides, and who are themselves 
pedestrians, a few weeks in the Tyrol can be accomplished 
at considerably less cost than a tour of the same length in 
Switzerland, even allowing for the more expensive railway 
journey before they are on their ground. Of course post- 
ing or travelling vetturino, and first-class mountaineering- 
must be pretty much the same everywhere — but the 
Tyrol innkeepers have consciences. 

Christian recounted to us one day with great indigna- 
tion an adventure that had befallen them on descending 
from the Gross Grlockner, when footsore and weary, be- 
grimed with dust, and their clothes none the better for hard 
work over rocks and snow and ice, and a tramp of many 
hours, he halted with F. at the little inn at Kals, where 
they rested on a bench in the open hall. In their hands 
were their ice-axes and a great coil of rope hung over 
their shoulders, and unwashed and unshaven, they were no 
doubt pitiable objects to behold, and so thought the good- 
hearted little Kellnerin, who, in her master's absence, ran 
to the oven, and drawing out a great loaf of bread, brought 
it to F. with a kindly greeting, while Aimer, gazing at her 



110 SKETCHES FROM BERCHTESGADEN AND 

in horror, exclaimed ( Wir sind keine Bettler ; das ist ein 
Herr ! ' sending back the poor little Samaritan blushing to 
her stew-pans, after many explanatory ejaculations that, 
seeing the ropes and the dust on their boots, and how tired 
they were, she had believed they were wandering journey- 
men, rope makers (* Strichmacher ' ) looking for work, 
to whom the good bread would be welcome. But while 
we gossiped over Tyrol customs, and watched the peasants 
from our windows at Zell, the horses were being har- 
nessed, and the men were impatient to be off. 

Madame and the little Kammermadchen quite clung to 
us at parting, bringing us bouquets of sweet fresh flowers, 
and imploring us to return. 

' Wollen Sie nicht gewiss zuriickkommen, oder jeden- 
falls uns recommandiren ; nicht wahr ? ' with a sudden eye 
to business and a tender pressure of our hands. 

The bugles had sounded merrily, and the Freiwillicje 
were ranged in order before the door as we drove away. 
Of those great brave awkward peasants, how many may 
not have fallen, silently gathered in by the grim Prussian 
death, before the grass they had been mowing that early 
spring morning had turned dry and golden under their old 
roofs at home ! 

The Tyroler in these mountain valleys are an honest 
people, strong in their simple beliefs and diligent in 
prayers. Often we heard them chaunting a solemn thanks- 
giving round the great table on which a mighty stew of 




A mountain (alette! 




Wit sind keineBelfle* ! 



THE ZILLEE-THAL. Ill 

beans or polenta waited the onslaught of their wooden 
spoons : masters and herdsmen and the women of the 
house, each in their place, as in the good old Saxon times, 
when churl and hind ate plum-porridge at a festival, sitting 
below the salt. 

Good faithful hearts, true to ( Grott und Kaiser,' fight- 
ing vainly for a broken cause and a fatal creed! (rod 
grant that from that baptism of blood a new fatherland 
may arise, strengthened and purified, and worthy of its 
great destiny in the future ! 



A NIGHT 



THE SUMMIT OF MONTE VISO. 



' Being dight 

In a thick caoutchouc yclept a bag, 
That was well-lyned all, and yet was lighte, 

And on his head the hood thereof he had, 
From which the sweat, as he had chauffed been, 

Did drop — the whilome snow his breath diswronght ; 
But meek-eyed Sleepe was frighted at the scene, 

And his strange guise, and fled all vainly sought, 

And he through weary hours to little joy was brought.' 

After Spenser. 



A NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT OF MONTE VISO. 



ON July 2, 1862, in company with my guides, Michel 
Auguste Croz of Chamouni and Peter Perm of 
Zermatt, I left Turin for Pinerolo, proceeding the same 
afternoon as far as La Torre. On the following day we 
ascended the Val Pellice, engaging at Bobbio a good- 
natured, tough little fellow, Bartolommeo Peyrotte by 
name, as porter, for 2 francs 45 centimes and his food per 
diem, and reaching at 4 p.m. the summit of the Col de 
Seylieres, where a glorious view of the Viso at once burst 
upon us. 

We lingered there for an hour, and at five commenced 
the descent into the head of the valley of the Gruil, which 
bears the name of the Vallon de Viso. Intersecting the 
route of the Col de Traversette, we skirted the slopes on 
the left, so as to avoid all unnecessary descent, and then, 
once more mounting, gained the summit of the Col de 
Vallante at 6.30. The weather was exquisite ; and the 
sun, now getting low in the western sky, sent a blaze of 
golden glory on the rocky mass of the Viso, which towered 
up close at hand in the most majestic manner. The descent 



116 A NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT OF MONTE VISO. 

on the side of the Val Vallante is rapid, but presents no 
difficulty. At the highest chalets we found inhabitants, 
but, either naturally churlish or suspecting our appear- 
ance, they positively declined either to take us in or sell 
us a draught of milk. At the next lower group, which 
we reached about eight o'clock, we met with the utmost 
kindness and civility, the berger and his wife welcoming 
us heartily, apologising for the scantiness of their means 
of entertainment, and begging us to avail ourselves of 
them, such as they were, to the utmost. The invitation 
was gladly accepted, a pot of milk and chocolate (the 
latter of course provided by us) was soon boiling merrily 
over the fire ; and refreshed by a hearty supper, yet suffi- 
ciently tired to make any bed welcome, we stretched 
ourselves upon some hay, and were soon in the land of 
dreams. 

My sleeping-bag here came into requisition for the first 
time, and as I shall have occasion to refer to it again, I 
may perhaps be permitted a short description of its con- 
struction. My friend, Mr. Gralton, having kindly lent me 
a bag he has had constructed on the plan of those used by 
the French preposes in the Pyrenees, and described by 
him in the first series of ( Vacation Tourists,' my first 
attempt was little more than a copy of the model in 
question. Composed externally of macintosh, it was lined 
with thick homespun Welsh cloth, and on the two or three 
occasions when I had an opportunity of testing its capa- 



A NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT OF MONTE VISO. 117 

bilities in 1861, though answering the purpose of keeping 
out the cold, its retention of the insensible perspiration 
proved its weak point. To obviate this, my second attempt, 
whilst covered with macintosh on its under side, and on 
the upper surface, for a distance of about fifteen inches 
from the foot, consisted simply of a bag of very stout and 
dense scarlet blanketing (of the description known as 
e swan-skin ') opening like a shirt-front to admit the body, 
and provided with two arm-holes for greater convenience 
and facility of movement. At the point where the upper 
surface of macintosh terminated, a sort of bib or apron of 
the same woollen material commenced, and could either be 
thrown back over fche feet if not required, or drawn up to 
the chin and secured by a button to each shoulder if 
greater warmth was desirable. A hood or capote, also of 
woollen, but uncovered with macintosh, to facilitate the 
escape of perspiration and confined air, and constructed 
after the fashion of Arctic head-gear, completed the 
ordinary means of protection. ( Stuffiness,' however, though 
a serious drawback, might be put up with in the event of 
a night of rain or snow in preference to a state of more 
or less complete saturation; and, therefore, in order to 
provide against such a contingenc}^, I added a loose sheet 
of macintosh, with button-holes down each side, by which 
it could be attached to a corresponding series of buttons 
on the bag, and thus render the latter impervious to water. 
As the material is exceedingly light, I had this sheet made 



118 A NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT OF MONTE VISO. 

considerably wider than was necessary, and when not 
required for the bag, it proved very useful as an addition 
to the wraps of my guides, keeping out the wind admirably, 
and lessening the one great objection to the use of sleeping 
bags, the force of which' I cannot wholly get over, viz. that 
unless similar provision be made for the whole party, it 
seems hardly fair to expose others to the hardships which 
occasionally attend the practice of bivouacking. To con- 
clude, the weight of the whole concern is about 8^ lbs., 
and as it is quite capable of doing duty as a knapsack, it 
may for a time be made to take the place of that otherwise 
almost indispensable article, either for clothes or provisions. 
Indeed, I generally pack in it a small macintosh case, 
which holds a spare pair of flannel trowsers, shirt, and 
socks, as a change in the event of being overtaken by wet 
before reaching the intended gite. For I need hardly say 
that however well protected when once inside one's dormi- 
tory, it would be extremely unwise to risk a night, sub 
Jove frigido, in rain-soaked garments. The wet clothes, 
when taken off, may be stuffed into the case, which then 
makes a by no means contemptible pillow. Thus much 
premised, I will now proceed with my narrative, in the 
course of which I hope to be able to show that my bed 
fulfilled my most sanguine anticipations, and proved a 
most valuable ally. It was made for me by Messrs. Heyes 
& Co., waterproofers, of Bristol, at an expense of ll. 12s. 



A NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT OF MONTE VISO. 119 

for the bag, 12s. for the sheet, and 2s. 6d. for the clothes- 
case; I supplying the ' swan-skin,' which cost \l. 2s. 

As I proposed, weather permitting, to spend the night 
on the summit of the Viso, and it was clear that we had 
not a long day's work before us, we were in no hurry to 
quit the friendly shelter of the chalet ; but at 8.15 on the 
morning of the 4th, after a hearty breakfast of bread and 
milk, we bade adieu to our hosts, and proceeded to climb 
the wooded slope immediately behind and to the E. of our 
quarters, which forms the southern prolongation of the 
Petit Viso, and the W. boundary of the Vallon delle 
Forciolline. After an ascent of about one hour's duration, 
we quitted the upper limits of the pine, and entered upon 
a region of grassy slopes, followed by debris, over which 
the remainder of our route almost uninterruptedly led. 
At 9.45 a short halt was called, and then, traversing a 
sort of shoulder or col, we found ourselves, at 10.30, on 
the bank of one of a chain of small lakes or tarns nestling 
in the bosom of the mountain, not far from the point at 
which the ascent to the Col delle Sagnette commences. 
These are formed by the melting of the snow-slopes above, 
and their surplus water is discharged through a rocky 
gorge into the Vallon delle Forciolline. The scenery is 
very striking, the huge and splintered crags around being 
reflected in the calm waters, ere they go dashing onwards 
to the valley below ; and we lingered half an hour, under 
pretence of demolishing a second breakfast, in the shape 



120 A NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT OF MONTE VISO. 

of a hard-boiled egg apiece. Skirting the slopes of debris 
which descend from the jagged ridge on the E., traversed 
by the Col delle Sagnette, and avoiding the mistake of 
our predecessors, Messrs. Mathews and Jacomb, which led 
them to the summit of the Petit Viso, we reached, at 11.45, 
the base of the steeper portion of the mountain. As snow 
had now to be ascended for a considerable distance, gaiters 
were put on, though probably they would scarcely be 
needed later in the season. A steady, but leisurely pro- 
gress for an hour and three-quarters, sometimes over rocks 
and up couloirs, varied by occasional step-cutting, brought 
us at 1.45 to the crest of the ridge descending from the 
summit in a SSE. direction towards the Col delle Sagnette. 
So far all had gone on smoothly, and time being less 
than ever an object, it was decided to halt here for dinner, 
rather than delay till the summit should be reached. 
From the position we had now attained, the eye roamed 
over the valleys of the Lenta and Po, and far away beyond 
them to the boundless expanse of the great plain of 
Piedmont, whilst above us the summit of the Viso towered 
up in rugged grandeur. The remainder of the ascent 
gave us little trouble, except where the rocks were 
covered with hard ice, rendering extra care and an occa- 
sional resort to the axe necessary. An hour and a half 
sufficed for the climb, and at 3.30 we stood on the summit, 
just 7 J hours (1£ of which must be deducted for halts) 
after quitting the Chalets de Vallante. The ridge 



A NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT OF MONTE VISO. 121 

connecting the E. and W. peaks was, owing to the recent 
snow, in such a dangerous condition, and the advantage of 
attempting to reach the latter appeared so questionable, 
that we decided to rest satisfied with having attained the 
point which — thanks perhaps to its snowy cap — was, at 
the time of our visit, decidedly the loftiest. After an 
unsuccessful search for the minimum thermometer at- 
tached to the cairn erected by Messrs. Mathews and 
Jacomb, which was in good order and remarkably solid, I 
proceeded to instal my barometer, spread out my wet 
socks to dry, and examine the view, whilst the men busied 
themselves with small local explorations, pipes, and the 
conversion of very unpromising materials into a gite. I 
shall not here dwell on the grandeur and beauty of a 
panorama, to which full justice has already been done by 
the first conqueror of this supposed inaccessible peak, but 
I may just remark that, after long and careful examination, 
I came to the conclusion that the Mediterranean was 
certainly not to be distinguished from the haze of the 
southern horizon. At the same time it results from a 
careful calculation of the effects of curvature and refraction 
that the Viso would be visible from the sea, at a distance 
of 148 miles, or 83 miles from the shore in the direction 
of the Col di Tenda, while this latter being 6,158 feet in 
height would vanish beneath the horizon at a distance of 
103 miles, or 76 from the shore. Hence it follows that 
there is no obstacle to the sea being sesn from the Viso, 

i 



122 A NIGHT ON TTIE SUMMIT OF MONTE VISO. 

or vice versa, but the imperfection of the human vision or 
the haze of the atmosphere. It seemed to me just possible 
that some exceedingly distant high land seen almost over 
the Col di Tenda. and apparently separated from the 
range of the Maritime Alps by an expanse of brouillard 
such as would be produced by a large surface of water, 
might be the Monte Eotondo in the Island of Corsica. 
The height of this summit is 9,068 feet, but its distance 
is so great (200 miles) that the utmost I can claim for my 
supposition is that it is not physically impossible, the 
Viso being, as already stated, visible from the sea-level 
at 148 miles, whilst the Monte Eotondo is seen at 125.* 

Though the mountains of Dauphine are very well seen 
from the Viso, the position of the sun rendered their 
details extremely confused, and as their forms were com- 
parative strangers to me, I could do nothing in the way of 
identification or determination of bearings with the theo- 
dolite. Eeserving this for the morning, when the first 
condition would be reversed in my favour, and whilst the 
barometer was being allowed to settle, I deposited in the 
cairn one of Casella's new mercurial minimums and a 
Phillips' maximum by the same maker, to which I beg to 
call the attention of future comers. 

At five, six, and seven o'clock I read off the barometer, 

* I have since been informed by my friend Mr. Brown, of Genoa, that 
the Viso has been distinguished from at least one point on the Eiviera di 
Levante. 



A NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT OF MONTE VISO. ] 23 

and the mean resultant height deduced from comparisons 
with Turin, Aosta, Geneva, and the Great St. Bernard, 
comes out 3,860*1 metres (12,664 feet). A fourth ob- 
servation at 5*30 the following morning, similarly com- 
pared, gives the lower result of 3,840*3 metres (12,600 
feet). The former is within four feet of Mr. Mathews' 
determination (12,668 feet), and the latter within one 
foot of the trigonometrical measurement of the Sardinian 
engineers (12,599 feet), so that the mean of both (12,632 
feet) is highly satisfactory. The boiling point at 6 p.m. 
was 190° Fahrenheit or 87*78° centigrade, which, by M. 
Regnault's table, corresponds with a pressure of 482*53 
millimetres. Now the barometer at the same hour stood 
at 482*1 millimetres, and the difference, 0*43 millimetre, 
is precisely the same as that found a week previously 
on the summit of the Grivola. Comparing the mean of 
the readings of the barometer at five, six, and seven p.m. 
(482*2 millimetres), with that of the aneroid (one of 
Secretan's) for the same hours (477*2 millimetres), we 
find a difference of 5 millimetres, an increase upon that 
found on the Grivola, which was only 3*2 millimetres. 
A similar comparison of the observation at 5*30 the 
following morning, reduces the discrepancy to 4*3 milli- 
metres, and the mean would therefore be 4*6 millimetres ; 
but as on the 2nd, at Turin, the error was. alread} r 
precisely the same in amount, if this were used as a 

I 2 



124 A NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT OF MONTE VISO. 

correction, the two instruments would be absolutely 
accordant. 

The sunset was magnificent, the huge pointed shadow 
of the mountain stretching away over the light veil of 
fleecy clouds which began to cover the surface of the Italian 
plain ; but as at seven o'clock the temperature had already 
fallen to — 2° C. (28*4° Fahrenheit), and the wind was be- 
ginning to rise, my position on the summit became rather 
exposed, and the question of shelter and a bivouac assumed 
increased importance. The sound of falling stones had for 
some time indicated considerable activity on the part of 
my companions, who had left me to attend to my ' ma- 
chines ;' but on rejoining them, I found that their united 
efforts had made but little progress in the construction of 
a gite. A small surface of ground at a point about forty 
feet below the summit had, indeed, been to some extent 
cleared of debris, and a sort of wall constructed of loose 
stones on the side of the precipice, but not a single jutting 
fragment offered even partial protection from radiation, 
and the creation of a tolerably level surface on a slope of 
10° or 15° had proved an absolutely insoluble problem. 
The appearance of the weather, too, was by no means re- 
assuring, and as fitful gusts of wind moaned amongst the 
crags, and the dull grey vapours came stealing up from 
the valleys, I confess I began to feel doubtful about the 
wisdom of the whole proceeding. There was no help for 
it now, however, as darkness was coming on apace; so, 




r root's or int ctth v i ly ol T's compel n ions . 




'key OTrangt I hit* tfosfu-me. Pot lk fe negkt 



A NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT OF MONTE VISO. 125 

whilst the final touches were being given to our nest, I 
occupied myself with heating a bottle of wine in my boil- 
ing apparatus by way of night-cap. Peyrotte then got 
into the sack in which he always used to carry his load, 
Croz indued a comfortable knitted woollen head-piece, and 
Perm a seal-skin cap, with ample flaps to come over the 
ears, which I had lent him. Finally, covering themselves 
with a couverture which we had borrowed at the chalets, 
my companions drew my macintosh sheet over outside to 
make all snug. I meanwhile entered the bag, and, plant- 
ing my feet firmly against a rock to prevent slipping, en- 
deavoured to compose myself to rest, but the intensity of 
the cold, aggravated by the wind, combined with an uneasy 
position and the constant sense of being in motion down- 
wards, proved too much for me ; and, after long and per- 
severing efforts, I calmly abandoned myself to a perpetual 
condition of semi-conscious wriggling. The time seemed 
to pass very slowly, as usual under such circumstances ; 
but after what appeared to be hours of wakefulness I at 
length dropped off, and did not rouse again, at least more 
than partially, till about 2.30 a.m. I had buried my face 
so completely in the capote, and so closed every cranny 
with a handkerchief, that at first it was difficult to ascer- 
tain the state of affairs, but an icy cold drop of water fall- 
ing on my nose through some unguarded chink roused me 
completely, and on peering out, I perceived to my surprise 
that everything around was white, nearly an inch of snow 



126 A NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT OF MONTE VISO. 

lay on my chest, and thick sleet mingled with fog was 
falling. The prospect was anything but cheering, and my 
feelings were so nearly akin to the painful, that I confess 
the thought of having to hold out for some hours more 
was peculiarly unwelcome. Still, though cold, I felt I 
could yet bid defiance to the weather, and any grumblings 
that tried to make themselves heard were silenced by the 
sense of satisfaction at the manner in which my bag bore 
the severe test to which it was exposed. A temperature of 
— 2-5° C. (27*5° Fahr.), as shown by a thermometer pro- 
tected from radiation, snow, wind, and damp, the worst 
possible combination in short, were all rendered endurable 
by its means, and this in itself was worth finding out at 
the expense of some little personal discomfort. Mean- 
while, the guides were, I fear, in much more miserable 
plight ; for though tolerably protected, and having the 
advantage of mutual warmth, they naturally were unsup- 
ported by the same enthusiasm, and from poor Peyrotte's 
sack especially dolorous groans would from time to time 
issue. I ventured to cheer him by suggesting that the 
honour of being the first subject of the king of Italy who 
had reached the summit of the Viso, and passed a night 
on it into the bargain, lasting for his life, and rendering 
him famous to generations of Bobbioites yet unborn, would 
amply atone for a few short hours of exposure. Besides, 
it would recommend him to future travellers, who might 
take him as guide on the strength of this performance. I 
found, however, that all my eloquence was wasted, and 




Ynhrenntit 



3.0. in- 2]r-,5 Tak*<2nkai* „ 




6.a.7Ti. f Key dispaiT uF iaktno oj>s e-rva.fr on i 



A NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT OF MONTE VISO. 127 

that he would have sacrificed the brilliant future portrayed 
had it been in his power to escape. Thus time went on, 
and sometimes we dozed, and sometimes we peered out 
into the mist to see if there were any signs of its disappear- 
ing; but at length, about 5.15, there being no appearance 
of improvement, our little encampment was broken up, a 
hasty breakfast taken, and the barometer observed and put 
up in a very rusty condition from its long exposure to the 
damp. At six, despairing of any opportunity for using the 
theodolite, which had been dragged up with considerable 
trouble, we set out on our return. 

As we descended the snow gradually diminished, then 
ceased altogether, and at last we emerged from the cloud 
which hung densely round the upper portion of the moun- 
tain and clung to it throughout the day. The fresh-fallen 
snow rendered caution necessary, and our progress was 
slow, but at 7.45 we reached the foot of the steepest por- 
tion of the descent, about half an hour above the tarns 
already described, and halting till 8.15 for breakfast, 
arrived at the chalets in about two hours more, or at 
10.15. The time occupied in the ascent and descent was 
therefore 7£ and 4 J hours respectively, including halts, 
which amounted to an hour and a half in the first case, 
and half an hour in the second. At 2.30, we proceeded 
down the Vallon di Vallante to Ponte Castello, whence a 
pleasant walk of little more than an hour towards the head 
of the Val Vraita brought us, at 4.45, to La Chianale, thus 
terminating a most interesting expedition. 



SKETCHES FROM PONTRESINA. 



' Hills draw like Heaven, 
And stronger sometimes, holding out their hands 
To prill you from the vile flats up to them.' 

E. B. Browning. 

' Ah ! bitter chill it was ; 
The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold ; 

The hare limp'd trembling through the frozen grass, 
And silent was the flock in woolly fold.' 

Keats. 



SKETCHES FROM PONTRESINA 



A HEAVY storm of wind and rain and snow had kept 
*£*- us prisoners all day, and we had nearly exhausted 
our resources. The stove in the little salon could not be 
lighted, on account of the smoke; and even with the 
piano (which is a very good one), the most ardent musician 
could not have supported life there for many hours if he 
were to be entirely dependent on the warmth of his feel- 
ings for any extra amount of caloric. The great salle-a- 
manger was still in process of preparation for the season, 
and damp with premonitory scrubbings. There remained 
the stube and the cafe. In the latter apartment we had 
spent many hours, and found them somewhat tedious. 
The clouds were low in the valley, and there was no view. 
We had read through the last pile of serials and papers 
from England. We had written our journals; had painted 
numberless small studies of wild-flowers, ■ with mosses, 
leaves, and branches of wood and stones grey and golden 
with lichens, much to the astonishment of the kellnerin, 
who, when E. challenged her admiration for her handful 
of treasures, said, ' Ah, yes, she noticed that the foreigners 



132 SKETCHES FROM TO^TRESINA. 

cared for sticks ; as for her, she saw so many pieces of 
wood, she was accustomed to them.' 

We had the great hotel almost to ourselves, and had 
taken vigorous exercise in the large unfurnished rooms, 
and up and down the passages, and still the pitiless snow 
fell, and the wind blew, rattled against the windows, and 
shook the jalousies, making us humble and imploring as to 
the matter of fuel, in which we considered ourselves some- 
what stinted. Half frozen, and sighing for real summer 
and warmth, we appealed to Frau Grredig in the choicest 
Grerman, explaining our sufferings ;— that we, delicate 
English, were not accustomed to reside in ice-houses, to 
be frozen to the floors, to warm ourselves over the eggs at 
breakfast; and live through the afternoons on the thought 
of securing a little steam from the urn at tea. ' Feel our 
hands, madame, and see how we suffer ! ' 

Frau Grredig had not a bad heart. For a moment, as 
she took the suffering ringers into her maternal grasp, her 
countenance relaxed, a gleam of compassion shone in her 
eye, and a cry for more fuel trembled on her lips ; but 
second thoughts proved safest. With a vigorous rub she 
administered present consolation and a valuable moral 
truth. 

'It is not the fault of the climate that you suffer, 
Fraulein. I am not cold ; my sister is not cold ; and 
why ? We run about from morning till night. My head 
and my hands are full. We have to think and plan, and 









SKETCHES FROM PONTKESINA. 133 

do for you all, and — ach, mein Grott, sind wir nicht warm 
genug ? ' 

Driven from all hope of external comfort, we evolved 
heat from our internal consciousness, and warmed our- 
selves by the brilliancy of our own imaginations. D. and 
C. had conceived a wonderful thought. We would utilize 
the snow. We would plan a day of delights to be realized 
from it, the very thought of which would cause every flake 
that fell to be hailed with jubilations. We would make a 
grand schlitten partie to the Bernina Pass. A messenger 
was sent to summon Walther, and we all eagerly discussed 
preliminaries. 

Bartholome Walther, one of the pleasantest guides in 
Switzerland, and a capital one for ladies, had been with 
us as a sort of travelling-servant for some weeks past 
during our wanderings in Tyrol, and, though now off 
duty, was still considered as belonging, in a semi-attached 
fashion, to our party. He lived in one of the large houses 
forming the main street of the little Pontresina village, 
which, as it is a fair type of the homes of the people, may 
be worth a word or two of description. On the ground- 
floor was a small shop, a stable for cows and horses, a 
dairy well stocked, a large dark entrance-hall, roughly 
paved, with the usual arched wooden doors, a staircase 
leading to a hay-loft, where a bergivagen was stowed away, 
(how they got their carriages there I could never tell, 
but you invariably found them on the first floor,) and a 



134 SKETCHES FROM PONTRESINA. 

pleasant little stube or living-room, wainscoted with wood, 
built like a nest into the great stone and plaster erection, 
the deep setting of the window, gay with flowering plants 
and shrubs, showing how great the cold must be in winter, 
and somewhere under the eaves no doubt a little colony 
of sleeping-rooms, into which we did not penetrate. It 
is a sort of home farm; everything is stored under the 
one roof, and when the long dark winter days set in, 
the women's work at least may be done under shelter. 
Madame Walther, a pleasant-faced, soft-voiced woman, 
always made us very welcome, and she and her little 
daughter were proud to show their pans of rich cream and 
stores of butter. ' Nine months of winter and three of 
bad weather,' say the Engadine peasants. They are wise, 
certainly, to gather all they can under their home eaves. 
The men, who during their short season are employed as 
guides by travellers, busy themselves when the strangers 
have departed in carrying on their wine-trade with the 
Valtelline. Early in the morning men and horses start 
for the summit of the Bernina Pass, floundering through 
the deep snow, the good clever beasts sometimes moving 
steadily forward on their knees, when unable to keep their 
footing, till they reach the shelter of the hut which marks 
the highest ground, and here they meet the people from 
the southern valleys with their casks of wine. Three or 
four times a week the journey is made, the Engadiners 
returning with well-laden sleighs to the village. 



SKETCHES FEOM PONTRESINA. 135 

Walther entered with proper spirit into our plans and 
wishes, promised us great enjoyment for the morrow, fine 
weather, and plenty of snow; two Bevgwagen were to be at 
the door at eight o'clock, and we went to sleep in a state 
of high contentment, to dream of wonderful adventures 
and successes. We were up early, and, breakfast over, 
started in full mountaineering costume, well prepared for 
whatever might befal us, with linsey or serge dresses 
arranged as riding-habits in case of need, boots stout and 
strong and rich in nails, our especial pride and boast, 
alpen-stocks, coloured spectacles, veils, and linen masks, 
the ' weisse Teufel ' head-dresses now becoming well 
known to Swiss natives as another wonderful idiosyncrasy 
of the English. The men had provided two very small 
sledges, but we were as yet ignorant of how they could by 
any possibility be good at need. Walther had arranged 
for the regular post sledges to be ready for us when we 
reached the snow. The day was perfectly cloudless, the 
sky of the deepest blue, the marvellously beautiful range of 
the Bernina — Piz Palii, Piz Bernina, Piz Morteratsch, and 
other mighty mountains — rising up in almost dazzling 
whiteness against the clear background of colour. The 
sun was pleasantly warm, even at that early hour, and 
there was fortunately very little wind ; we were in the 
highest possible spirits, and prepared to find amusement 
out of everything ; the horses even seemed to share our 
enjoyment, as they trotted on, tossing their heads to the 



136 SKETCHES FROM PONTIiESINA. 

merry music of their bells and the gay songs of the drivers. 
As the way grew steeper we were glad to walk and to get 
thoroughly warmed by exercise, before encountering a pos- 
sible snow-bath higher up. The road is a new one, made 
about three years ago, but still liable to much injury from 
the avalanches, which have been unusually frequent dur- 
ing this year. In some places all the telegraph posts were 
destroyed, and a sad desolation marked the course of the 
snow — uprooted trees and masses of stone and broken 
walls showing where it had passed. 

We halted at the Bernina Wirthshaus, rather less than 
two hours from Pontresina, to order dinner to be ready on 
our return, and then climbed still higher ; the snow lying 
thickly all around us, not even a tree or rock to be seen, 
nothing but a white wilderness, with soft blue shadows in 
the hollows of the hills ; and solemnly marking our way 
like silent fingerposts of fate, the telegraph poles rose at 
regular intervals, struggling up through the mass of snow, 
sometimes scarcely showing a few feet above the ground, 
though our road so far had been dug out and beaten hard, 
and the travelling was by no means bad ; but suddenly it 
came to an end, winter reasserted itself, and the snow had 
it all its own way. We dismounted, fastened on with 
great care spectacles and masks, the men following our 
example, and arranging their veils and glasses, and then 
busying themselves in transferring the horses to the sledges, 
which were lying by the side of the road, fastening the 



SKETCHES FROM PONTRESINA. 137 

seats from our bergwagen on to the slight wooden frame- 
work of the runners. We watched, meanwhile, with much 
amusement, a drove of small black pigs who were dis- 
porting themselves on the snow, being ignominiously 
captured by a leg or an ear, and tossed into a cart, where 
they subsided into a most uncomfortable heap, with 
shrieks guttural and expostulatory. 

The sledges were soon prepared, and we mounted to our 
places, D. and E., under Walther's care, heading the pro- 
cession. They were very well off, the guide having 
fastened the seat of his bergtvagen bodily, by means of 
cords, to the runners, so that they had something to cling 
to besides each other. Mrs. C. and C. were not so 
fortunate, they being enthroned on a long box, sitting 
back to back, with a loose cross-board for the feet, and 
nothing particular to lay hold of. A few yards brought us 
to the place where a gang of labourers were at work 
cutting out the roadway ; unfortunately they had begun 
laterally, and a great slice of hard snow was already gone, 
leaving only a narrow ledge or shelf, not wide enough for 
our carriages. But the peasants were good-natured, and 
willing to put their shoulders to the wheel ; that is to say 
(having a strict regard to truth), they held up" the runners 
on one side to prevent our toppling over ; and that 
difficulty passed, we dashed on in famous style. The 
workmen, with their veiled faces and goggle eyes, standing 
silently in the dismal trenches, looked like a troop of weird 



138 SKETCHES FROM PONTRESINA. 

ghosts, who had somehow strayed from the Inferno, and 
were fated to dig their way down again into the darkness, 
while we mere earthly travellers passed on into higher 
air. 

The horses rushed over the snow, and flung up the cold 
white masses into our faces, pelting us with snow-balls 
with their eager feet ; a man stood behind each sledge 
balanced between the runners, and drove over our heads, 
with shout and song urging on the horses. Whenever we 
dared to turn our heads the sight was one never to be for- 
gotten : C. and her companion, in an agony of terror and 
laughter, holding on by the strength of a fixed determi- 
nation, and looking out despairingly for side jolts which 
might upset their equilibrium. A joyful shout reached us, 
and Mrs. C. announced that she had found a rope to hold 
by, and was very comfortable : a short-lived happiness, as 
the next moment she discovered she had been clinging to 
her own crinoline, from which no difficulties of the way 
had ever separated her. 

We went on and on, the only moving things in that 
beautiful still snow world, except one little marmot, who 
raced away in the distance, uttering his shrill cry ; a lake 
lay near us, but so covered over that only here and there 
a green glimmer of ice was to be seen. The mountains 
were entirely veiled, the great gallery on the Italian side 
was roofed with snow, which was piled up within and 
about it. Here our expedition ended, as we did mot wish 



SKETCHES FROM PONTRESINA. 139 

to give our poor horses a toilsome ascent ; so dismounting, 
we walked down the hill, and plunged into the soft bank 
beside the road, gaining the entrance to the first arches in 
order to see the immense icicles that fringed them, and 
then prepared to return in different order, D. being anxious 
to try her power of keeping her place on the wooden box. 
The pace was glorious, and it was the greatest possible fun 
to spin along through the snow — great hard masses balling 
under us, and throwing sledge, and seat, and travellers 
suddenly from side to side, as we dashed round corners, 
half blinded by the dazzling brightness ; the cold and the 
speed at which we went taking away our breath with 
almost a terror of delight. Writing now in a warm quiet 
English home, such raptures sound too foolish to repeat, 
but our enjoyment was ecstatic while it lasted, our sen- 
sations so entirely new, — except in so far as old childish 
dreams came back of wonderful Siberian journeys, and 
tales of adventure with dogs and reindeer. And then it 
was our own escapade, and had not been ' cut and dried,' 
and arranged for us by the powers that be ! There had not 
been such a season for thirty years, and there might never 
be another when such an expedition could be made in June. 
Of course, there could never be another ; of that we felt 
quite sure, and we laughed in our content, like a rabid 
connoisseur who hugs himself in silent delight over the 
contemplation of a rare engraving, knowing that the plate 
has been destroyed. 



140 SKETCHES FROM PONTRESINA. 

Our day was unique, — a beautiful completeness, which 
could only live again in our memories. 

And then there was the dinner. Other people may 
come to that little inn, and may dine there, but not with 
such appetites as ours. And again fortune favoured us ; 
there had been a wedding on the Sunday, and the remains 
of the feast graced the board. In romantic descriptions 
of the highest class it is inadmissible to speak of a table 
simply as such ; whatever may be the number of its legs, 
whether it be round or square or oblong, it invariably 
becomes a board and generally groans ; and this practice 
probably originated the first idea of mahogany as a 
spiritual habitat ; it may to many minds afford a trium- 
phant refutation of the notions of idle cavillers who 
profess to regard the legends of Tintagel as vague myths, 
that the knights of King Arthur invariably met at a table, 
the use of that simple word conveying a sense of remote 
antiquity, and a quaint rudeness of expression, bearing, 
by all rules of criticism, a genuine stamp of truth that 
must be perfectly irresistible ! Fancy an erection of spun 
sugar and a bouquet of roses in a little wainscoted salon, 
through the windows of which we looked out on nothing 
but the same dream of snow. That sugar temple and 
the flowers added the element of poetry to the adventure 
which was lacking in our prosaic and realistic minds. We 
grew sentimental with the good Wirthin over their festivi- 
ties, and rested and talked and fraternised with the bright- 




^W^r^s>- 




Oirr'sehiiffen -paTtie*! 



SKETCHES FROM PONTRESINA. 141 

faced domestics, examined the kitchen, and saw that our 
men were well cared for ; and then, just as a lazy content 
was stealing over us, and even a somnolent tendency had 
manifested itself in Mrs. C, we were summoned by Walther 
and his companion, who carried the small sledges slung by 
ropes over their shoulders. These are less than a yard 
long, and about eighteen inches in width, and are formed 
of small transverse pieces of wood, attached to iron run- 
ners, the rope being fastened to the front. 

The men walked up a steep slope of snow, and we 
plodded after them, with many stumbles in the soft mass. 
At last, landed on a piece of stone which offered sure 
footing, we prepared to start. Seating ourselves on the 
sledges, with our feet extended, we steered ourselves, and 
by a vigorous dig with our heels could come to a stop at 
pleasure. At first, the men took the ropes and ran with 
us, but the sensation was horrible of being dragged into 
infinite space, with nothing earthly to hold to, but crumb- 
ling or melting snow. When, however, we took the reins 
into our own hands the whole thing was different, and be- 
came an indescribable pleasure — a swift shooting through 
the air without sense of obstruction. I began to realise 
what a fine time, if they were only sentient, the arrows 
would have belonging to an archery club, where the 
members were not clever enough to hit anything. But 
that was the difficulty, the one flaw in the perfect enjoy- 
ment of our performance ; there was an end to it. 

K 2 



142 SKETCHES FROM PONTRESINA. 

As a Frenchman once graphically remarked: — 'Dans 
une chnte il y a deux moments terribles: le depart et 
l'arrivee. Le voyage en lui-meme n'est rien. On cite 
meme un macon qui, tombant d'un cinquieme etage, 
adressait au ciel, pendant la traversee, cette fervente 
priere : " Mon Dieu, pourvu que 9a dure ! " ' 

The sun had considerable power, and it was hard work 
to struggle up to the starting-post, marked by an alpen- 
stock, preparatory to each fresh glissade. At last, fairly 
exhausted, E. took refuge with Mrs. C, who had camped 
out on a damp piece of grass, a wholesome dread of wet 
feet having made all our descriptions of delight fall heed- 
lessly on her ears. For a few minutes longer D. and C. 
ran races against each other, a sudden unlucky turn of the 
foot bringing up now one, $ow the other, as a very bad 
second, in a snow-drift, while the winner was often pre- 
cipitated most ingloriously into the cold soft mass at the 
bottom of the slope. 

The hours had passed so pleasantly that we hardly 
realised how rapidly the shadows were lengthening, till 
the Bergwagen were announced to be ready, and it was 
time to turn our face homewards. Contented and weary, 
we were glad to find ourselves once more rattling down 
the road, and we reached our old quarters as a golden 
glow passing over the tops of the fir-trees, and shining 
through the tufts and branches of the great Arolla pines, 
left the earth in a cold, frosty twilight, settled down for a 



SKETCHES FROM PONTRESINA. 143 

moment like a veil of light over the higher mountains, 
and then faded slowly into the pale clear greenness of the 
evening sky. 

* * * * * * * 

We spent more than ten days at Pontresina, the plea- 
santest possible headquarters for mountaineers or for 
ladies. The valley is at an elevation of nearly six thou- 
sand feet, and the air is deliciously fresh and bracing, 
even in July ; and early as we were there, with sunshine 
and fine weather, the cold was very bearable and wonder- 
fully invigorating. The history of each day would fill a 
long paper, and cannot be given here. A morning on the 
Morteratsch glacier was among our pleasantest expedi- 
tions ; the ice was in good order, comfortably crumbly on 
the surface, and affording us plenty of foothold. You 
may walk for miles over this great sea of dirty ice, which 
is anything but beautiful, as there are none of the aiguilles 
which make the great charm of the Oberland glaciers, and 
very little colour. Here and there in a deep crevasse, one 
sees a tinge of soft sea-green, and the moulins, formed by 
little hidden streams forcing their way through the fissures, 
make an amusing variety in one's path ; but as a whole, it 
is decidedly dull. At least, I can only write of it as we 
found it, and we may be told that ' as a whole ' we did not 
see it, for truth obliges me to confess that wonderful 
descriptions of the beauty and grandeur of the ice-fall, 
' combining the solemnity of cathedral architecture and 



144 SKETCHES FROM PONTRESINA. 

the fantastic decorations of a Chinese pagoda, Druidical 
beards and dripping caves gleaming with diamonds in the 
sunlight/ have reached us from those who penetrated 
further than an inexorable fate allowed us to proceed. In 
our experience, the cracks in the ice were only a few 
inches apart, so there was nothing to jump over, and 
during our expedition it afforded such good foothold that 
there was no excuse for slipping. The amphitheatre of 
hills enclosing this great frozen sea has few rivals in 
grandeur, when, as we saw it, a great white mantle of 
snow sweeping from each summit, falls as in soft, noiseless 
folds, to meet the rugged mass of ice below. The little 
woods skirting the end of the glacier are full of beauty, 
and near by there is a waterfall that in any other place 
would alone he an object of pilgrimage. The water- 
meadows were like a brilliant flower-bed, gay with patches 
of gentians and forget-me-nots, masses of purple primulas, 
yellow pansies, and delicate little soldinella ; and clustering 
round the stones and rocks were sweet-scented daphnes 
and white crocuses, which sprout up on the barest-looking 
ground a few hours after the snow has melted from its 
surface. 

These meadows, and the woods which skirt them, had a 
wonderful charm for us. A broad river flowed through 
the midst, often spreading itself over the valley when the 
warm sun melted the snows, and when the waters drew 
back again into their stony channel, grass, and moss, and 



SKETCHES FROM PONTRESINA. U!> 

flowers sprang up on the instant into vivid life ; the trees 
cast their twisted roots about the soil to hold it fast, bind- 
ing it with grey lichens and little fir twigs, and a soft 
carpet of dead leaves from last year's store; and before 
the hay was grown and there could be the sweet summer 
scent of mown grass drying in the wind, there was every- 
where a garden of flowers, golden and violet, with soft 
pink blooms, and the blue gentians with their bright little 
eyes ; the stones were encrusted with orange and scarlet 
lichens, and gray fringes hung in festoons from the old 
trees ; the ice in great billows and ridges came down into 
the grass, turning it back in long furrows in its steady 
advance year by year, and down the rocks rivulets of cold 
snow-water trickled from among the stones, bubbled up 
under the moss, and turned into a sudden cloud of spray 
as they sprang from any jutting crag into the river at their 
feet; and far above, as solemn sentinels, the great snow 
mountains closed around the valley. Days among the 
Alps, though full of commonplace adventure and merri- 
ment, and the prose of ordinary life a little caricatured, 
are rich in deeper thoughts and feeling. There is a 
stronger spell than the mere love of exercising their 
muscles or the desire to conquer a new peak that takes 
men to the mountains, and he must have a poverty- 
stricken soul who does not return humbler indeed, but 
calmed and strengthened by a fresh revelation of the 
Divine power in which his life can rest. 



146 SKETCHES FROM PONTRESINA. 

The contrast of these mighty forces of nature, — ice and 
snow, torrent and avalanche, mist and cloud, and desolating 
power, and the tender beauty of the grass and flowers, and 
gentler life, held as in the hollow of a strong hand, — was 
very wonderful to see. This Morteratsch valley was a 
place that the old myths would have made beautiful and 
palpitating with life. Fair-faced Persephone might have 
wandered through those meadows dimly conscious of a 
great dread where the cold darkness from the ice-caves 
fell across her path, as the mountain torrent spreading 
round her feet swept her away into the shadows. One 
dreams of a time when grand old Pan was strong and 
lusty, and could sing — 

" In my great veins — a music as of boughs 
When the cool aspen-fingers of the Eain 
Feel for the eyelids of the Earth in spring ; " 

and Dryads made their home in the depths of the wood, 
where gnarled and twisted branches, gray-bearded and old, 
look like evil beings expiating their sins and cramped with 
rheumatism. 

Evening after evening we watched the clouds draw 
away from the mountain tops, till they stood clear against 
the sky ; the sunshine died from the earth, the fir-trees 
grew black, and a chill dimness crept over the soft gray 
meadows, and then suddenly a little flush spread over the 
crests of the mountains, and deepened into a rosy delight ; 



SKETCHES FROM PONTRESINA. 147 

one or two stray cloudlets caught the glory, that like a 
great radiant smile touched them as it past, and then 
slowly the light faded ; a special beatitude vouchsafed to 
the great mountains, emblems of purity and strength : a 
host of Fra Angelico's gentle seraphs with their pink and 
violet wings might have sung there their Gloria in Excelsis, 
and sent their light upon the hills. And then came night, 
and a frosty stillness and clear heaven studded with stars, 
and a cold moonlight over silver snow. 

In our wood walks up the Eoseg Thai we often en- 
countered droves of the long-eared sheep from the Italian 
valleys, driven to the Alpine pastures by their Bergamesque 
shepherds, — picturesque fellows, with dark, handsome 
southern faces under the shadow of their broad hats, 
roughly dressed in skins and leather leggings, tanned like 
their faces by exposure to wind and weather. 

A few miles away by the road and an hour distant from 
Pontresina by a footpath through the wood, is the great 
Bad-haus of St. Moritz, a ghastly water-cure establishment, 
much frequented by true believers of all nations ; where a 
heterogeneous multitude are stowed away in hundreds of 
little rooms, and live together in great cold salons, and 
feed together, each after his own fashion in the matter of 
forks or fingers, in an enormous salle a manger, and kill 
time by drinking the waters, walking up and down the 
passages, and watching for the diligence which has kindly 
consented to go so far out of its way as to come round in 



148 SKETCHES FROM PONTRESINA. 

front of the great etablissement, for the accommodation and 
amusement of the sufferers. 

Beyond St. Moritz, there are little lakes, lying like 
gems set in a forest of pines, and more mountains, and 
wood, and waterfalls to be visited, all within easy reach of 
Herr Grredig's pleasant headquarters. 

Our time at Pontresina was coming to an end, and we 
had been unable to accomplish the ascent of the Piz 
Languard, — an old friend we were anxious to revisit ; but 
the quantity of snow, and its soft state, had hitherto made 
such an expedition impossible. F. and his companion had 
joined us after a most successful ascent of the Piz Bernina 
by a new route, and entertained us with wonderful stories 
of their capture by the Austrians, as Italian spies ; of 
a sudden attack made on them when peacefully reposing 
in a hay-loft ; of a night-march with fixed bayonets down 
a horribly bad path ; the completion of their broken 
slumbers in an Austrian fortress, the bayonets still on 
guard ; and of a triumphant and apologetic acquittal from 
the gallant commandant in the morning. In our state of 
excitement and suspense as to news from the army, which 
generally came to us first through the English papers, 
though there were Swiss troops at the time in the village, 
any one fresh from the frontier was doubly welcome, and 
our travellers joined us with somewhat of a halo of 
romance ; and as to the guides, they were very great men 
indeed, and were duly glorified over wine and tobacco in 



SKETCHES FROM PONTRESINA. 149 

the stube. If the four were not patriots, they had been 
considered a sufficiently good imitation, and vividly before 
the imaginations of all hovered images of the horrors of an 
Austrian dungeon ! 

Christian Aimer, one of the heroes, looked as though he 
had been kept on bread and water, and then dried and 
smoked. I never saw anything human so like an Egyptian 
mummy or a red-herring ; but his miserable condition 
was really due to the amount of work that had been 
accomplished, and the great cold they had encountered. 
Three passes and two new Spitze in twenty-four hours take 
something out of a man, even the strongest, when you 
have twenty-five degrees of frost at your lunching place. 

The weather had broken up and looked very doubtful, 
but with this accession to our numbers we were deter- 
mined to make an attempt on the mountain. Walther 
and ten or twelve men went up on the Saturday to try to 
make a little path through the snow by digging and 
stamping it hard ; and this they succeeded in doing in a 
degree near the summit, where the snow lay less thickly 
on the stones, — but anything like a tract was hopeless 
lower down. On Monday morning we were all called 
soon after two ; the clouds looked threatening,- but at that 
early hour it was difficult to judge how the day would turn 
out, and we hoped, at any rate, to make a good start. It 
is wonderful how the most glowing anticipations we may 
have indulged in over night pale in the uncertain glimmer 



150 SKETCHES FROM PONTRESINA. 

of dawn. The only sensation E. admitted to being vividly- 
conscious of, was a profound desire that some one 
would say it was raining hard, and there was nothing to 
be done but to go to sleep again. Of course this feeble 
expostulation of the flesh was crushed back instantly, and 
our spirits rising with the first plunge into cold water, we 
prepared to encounter hopefully the experiences of the 
coming day. 

We had invited some English acquaintances to join our 
party — Major and Mrs. L., who were staying with us at 
the hotel, and Mr. N. and Lady L. N., from St. Moritz ; 
and as we mustered our forces in the salon over an early 
breakfast, we rejoiced over the prospect of a successful 
ascent. It was very cold, and we were glad of warm 
dresses and plenty of wraps. C. was to remain behind ; 
but a party of nine, exclusive of servants, started on 
horseback and on foot at three o'clock, with porters laden 
with provisions, three first-rate guides, and a following of 
boys or men belonging to the beasts. We rode for the 
first two hours in single file, with shouting comments on 
our steeds, on the weather, and on the comforts and dis- 
comforts of our saddles. These were wonderful construc- 
tions, on which you were mounted high above the horse's 
shoulder and very far forward ; padded seats, on which it 
is difficult to keep your balance without pommel or stirrup, 
a flat board being substituted for the latter, which it is 
hopeless to try to grasp with your foot. Mrs. C. exhausted 



SKETCHES FROM PONTRESINA. 151 

herself by her efforts to sustain nobly her equestrian 
reputation. One or two of the party were first-rate 
horsewomen; but the Engadine 'mounts' tried their 
mettle more than a five-barred gate or a stone-wall 
country with the hounds at home ; and at every stumble 
of the animals during the slippery ascent a rider would 
fall forwards on the neck of the horse, or be jolted almost 
over its tail, with many outcries and much laughter. Poor 
Lady L. N. had provided herself with an English saddle, 
and set off in happy security, but her pony and the saddle 
would not fit ; the pony was fat and the saddle was angular; 
and the mathematical problem how to make a round body 
fit into a square hole was proved to be insoluble, and the 
hopelessness of the attempt was illustrated by a sudden 
descent of the hapless rider, first on one side, then on the 
other, as the poor beast struggled up the winding path. 

The track, such as it was, came to an end with the first 
snow, and here we dismissed our horses, and prepared 
for work. And now we discovered a flaw in the perfection 
of our mountaineering costume, which we had considered 
very perfect. Our riding-habits were looped well up over 
linsey petticoats, and the feminine mind exulted in the 
strong hobnailed boots, which looked as if they meant 

work; but unfortunately Mrs. L - alone had supplied 

herself with the leather leggings, which all travellers 
ought to know are essential to the comfort of any one 
intending to encounter a tramp through snow, and we 



152 SKETCHES FROM PONTRESINA. 

thus found ourselves dependent on the charity of our 
companions. With great care and much expenditure of 
packthread, some leather or cloth gaiters, generously 
subscribed on the instant, were fastened over our boots ; 
but as the fit was by no means perfect, they soon became 
clogged with snow, and proved a very doubtful blessing. 
By this time clouds had gathered above us and round 
the higher mountains, and were rapidly rising below us, 
covering the valley and the little green lakes, and leaving 
stretched before us an uncomfortable mass of snow, with 
here and there a little oasis of stones, the only landmarks 
in its dreary uniformity. It was very cold, a drizzling rain 
began to fall, and our spirits sank rapidly. Light and 
sunshine would have made us go on our way rejoicing, 
but in the grey cold bleak dimness it was a dreary pro- 
spect-to go up and up through deep snow into a cloud of 
snow-flakes, knowing all the time that we must come 
down again. However, all being ready, we made our final 
plunge. F. put an ice-axe on his shoulder, and E. held 
firmly by the iron, keeping her alpenstock in the other 
hand; and in single file we began the march. A few 
steps, and we were in a snowdrift, up to our knees, then 
to our waists, so firmly wedged into the soft mass that each 
step was a weary labour, and every muscle was strained 
and stretched before another yard could be gained. 

For the first moment we felt thoroughly miserable 
and frightened, fancying the next we might go in over 



SKETCHES FROM PONTEESINA. 153 

our hats, or that we might start an avalanche on our own 
account; but looking back at the slow procession of 
figures showing dark against the white background, in 
every attitude possible to struggling humanity, a sense of 
the ludicrousness of the whole thing came to our help, 
and amid peals of laughter we all agreed to consider our 
difficulties infinitely amusing, and from that moment there 
was no one so mean-spirited as even to ask under their 
breath the reason of our encountering so much exertion, 
and what we expected to see at the summit when we got 
there ? The clouds rose up beneath us like the black roof 
of a tent under which villagers and tourists might be tran- 
quilly sleeping, the mist closed in damp and impenetrable, 
wrapping us in a veil disagreeable and unexhilarating in 
the highest degree. ' Ten minutes more of climbing and 
everything was snow, and we were white all over, looking 
like rash pillars of salt during the process of transforma- 
tion, except where our breath melted out little blue and 
black patches on our veils. We stepped and stumbled on 
bravely; every now and then a cry would pierce the 
silence, and two or three men were needed to extricate 
some unlucky pedestrian who had come upon a * soft bit,' 
and was half-stifled and unable to stir. 

Mrs. C. presented a gallant appearance, and with the 
large hood of her caoutchouc heavy with snow, and a dole- 
ful dripping from the brim of her hat and nose and chin, 
the black draperies of her waterproof only relieved by 



154 SKETCHES FROM PONTRESINA. 

voluminous drab gaiters, she looked like an image of 
Father Christmas thawing,, but cheery and brave even 
under difficulties. 

On we went, undeterred by the now certain knowledge 
that there was nothing to be seen from the Spitze. We 
had our provisions, and a luncheon party having been 
planned for the summit of the Piz Languard, there we 
would go, and eat our luncheon, and return with peaceful 
consciences to Pontresina. 

The latter part of the ascent was not really so difficult 
as we had found it two years before, when the mass of 
loose stones had added greatly to our fatigue ; these were 
now well carpeted, and the guides have built a sort of rude 
staircase for the last ten minutes of the way, which has the 
advantage of not rolling away beneath one's feet. At one 
place we had had to cross a great plateau of snow, so soft 
that progression was simply impossible to us. F. shouted, 
{ Grentlemen to the front,' and with hands and knees and 
axes they literally pounded the snow hard. It was strange 
to see how lightly guides and mountaineers walked over 
the yielding surface, which seemed much less affected by 
their greater weight than where ladies attempted to try 
the same path ; by long practice they have acquired a per- 
fect balance, which is, I imagine, the real secret of walking 
on snow successfully. 

We reached the final plateau, which is about half-a- 
dozen yards across, in a heavy snow-storm, and being by 




Iti the, sti«wd.Ti[|- 



SKETCHES FROM PONTRESINA. 155 

this time, spite of all precautions, thoroughly wet through, 
we dared not linger very long. To an outsider — say the 
Spirit of the Storm — we must have presented a ludicrously 
forlorn appearance, but that would only have been because 
the Spirit being German, or at least German Swiss, would 
be naturally phlegmatic, and unable to understand that 
sterling quality of the British character which delights in 
being jolly under difficulties, and enjoying life under an as- 
pect totally differing from insular civilization. The cham- 
pagne-bottles were opened, and we drank to the mountain 
and our own success, and ate chickens and potted meats 
and compote, a ravenous hunger serving as sauce piquante ; 
and then the guides joined in chorus-, and the mountain 
echoes rang again to the wild wonderful jodels so full of 
unutterable joy and music to every Fuhrer's and Berg- 
steiger's heart. We were dripping at our elbows and sit- 
ting in pools of water, while the great snow-flakes soaked 
our bread and settled in the salt, and came down so 
thoroughly in earnest that our hats and umbrellas were 
heavy with them, and we dared not linger lest we should 
suddenly stiffen. The descent looked a little formidable, 
a snow slope ending in blackness and mist, and with many 
inward tremblings a question was whispered as to how 
we were to get down. That soon settled itself. Franz 
Andermatten, one of the merriest, sturdiest of Valais guides, 
seized Lady L. N., and before she could utter one shriek 
of protestation they were flying down far below us. Her 

L 



156 SKETCHES FROM PONTRESINA. 

husband quickly glissaded after her, and we all followed 
according to our different fashions. Walther seated himself 
on the snow, and bade E. sit behind him, and then with 
a vigorous push — swish ! they spun down, throwing up 
snow-balls and a white spray about their faces, till, safely 
landed at the first pile of stones, they could watch others de- 
scending. F. had placed his plaid on the ground, and D., 
sitting on it, wound one end firmly round her, while he held 
the other, intending to draw her luxuriously down the slope; 
but the inclined plane being slightly uneven, D. swerved 
aside, and came down in the end headforemost, rather like 
a bundle of hay in a blanket, while Mrs. C.'s dignified and 
successful glissade was in perfect keeping with her charac- 
ter. Major L. and his wife were old mountaineers and in 
capital training, and her walking powers cast the other 
ladies entirely into the shade, though, judging by their own 
accounts at a later date, the performances of each had 
been unrivalled. And thus with much laughter and enjoy- 
ment the ground was rapidly got over, and we found our- 
selves at about twelve o'clock once more standing on the 
short scrubby grass, which later in the year would turn 
this bare hill-side into pasture-land. Here the gaiters were 
unfastened, snow shaken off, and a few drops of wine 
taken before we started for the final trudge home. 

The mind of Pontresina, agricultural and commercial, 
is slow and conservative, and difficult to convince, and it 
was in vain we pleaded for the aid. of the horses on our 



SKETCHES FROM PONTEESINA. 157 

return march. The owners resisted with dogged persistency 
our most pathetic appeals ; our ancestors, if ever they had 
ascended the Piz Languard, had walked down again, and 
so must we. There was no more to be said, and we were 
not long in descending through the little wood and the 
meadows above the village; but we must have looked a 
very motley company to any fresh eyes that encountered 
us, judging by the amusement on C.'s face when she met 
us. One of our party who had fared the worst, her lighter 
dress not having been prepared for such rough work, was 
clothed in garments which by this time had assumed the 
colour and consistency of tea-leaves, while her boots were 
literally cut to pieces. We were warmly welcomed by 
Herr Grredig at the Krone, that worthy landlord killing a 
fatted calf in the gladness of his heart (at least this is our 
only way of accounting for the fact that veal formed the 
chief ingredient of all dishes served on that and subsequent 
occasions), and absolutely submitting even with cheerfulness 
to the choice on our part of the hour for dinner. To those 
by whom he is known, this fact will speak volumes. Herr 
Gredig has a great soul, but it moves in a narrow groove, 
and he is a man who believes implicitly in precedent. The 
law of the Gredigs of Pontresina, which altereth not, is 
carved on the door-post, and engraved on the ductile but 
abject minds of his followers. It afforded us exquisite 
gratification during our say to infringe the regulations 
in every possible manner; and such was the ascendancy 

L 2 



158 SKETCHES FROM PONTRESINA. 

that we acquired, that we were recognised as despots, and 
were graciously permitted on all occasions to eat our 
Abendessen when we were hungry, and not when the 
inmates of the Grasthaus zur Krone thought we ought 
to be. 

Our St. Moritz companions hurried off to seek dry clothes 
and shelter, while the rest of our party adjourned in the 
afternoon to Flury's studio, eliciting deep-drawn sighs 
from that conscientious artist by desiring to be photo- 
graphed en masse (with a background of snow, and a grand 
moraine built up of loose stones), in perpetual remem- 
brance of our very successful ascent of the Piz Languard. 



A NIGHT ADVENTURE IN THE 
SULDENTHAL. 



In these distracted times, when each man dreads 
The bloody stratagem of busy heads.' 

Otway. 

• For what obscured light the heavens did grant, 
Did but convey into our fearful minds 
A doubtful warrant of immediate death.' 

Comedy of Errors, 



A NIGHT ADVENTURE IN THE SULDENTHAL. 

June 18, 1866. 
— ♦ 

/CONSCIOUS of our own rectitude of intention, and con- 
^ firmed in it by the assurances of the police in the 
Val di Sole, that ( der Krieg ' was, as the Germans finely 
say, 'noch nicht los,' and that, if duly provided with 
properly vised passports, we might cross the frontier 
without fear of molestation, my friend B. and I, with 
our respective guides, Christian Aimer and Franz Ander- 
matten, proceeded quietly to carry out our plan of cam- 
paign in the Orteler group, by first effecting (on June 16) 
a new pass from Cogolo and Pejo, in Val di Sole, to Sta. 
Catarina. An account of this expedition, as weU as of the 
subsequent and very successful one from the last-named 
place to the Suldenthal, will be found in the September 
number of the Alpine Journal, 1866, and I will not weary 
the reader with topographical details which he may find 
elsewhere. Suffice it to say that, having despatched most 
of our baggage direct to Bormio, we had left Sta. Catarina 
at 1 A.M. on June 18, intending to sleep at Grampenhofe 
in the Suldenthal, and make our way thence to the Val- 



162 A NIGHT ADVENTURE IN THE SULDENTHAL. 

telline on the following day, by a pass between the 
Orteler Spitz and Klein-Zebru. Before 3 P.M. the first 
half of the programme had been accomplished in what we 
flattered ourselves might be considered a brilliant manner, 
for in little more than ten hours' actual walking we had 
ascended two hitherto unclimbed summits, — La Fornaccia 
and the S.W. or highest peak of the Cevedale, — amongst 
the finest of the group, and discovered three first-class 
new passes, from 11,400 to 12,200 feet in height (the 
last being, I believe, the loftiest in the Austrian Alps), 
besides traversing a fourth, the beautiful Janiger Scharte, 
first crossed last year by my friend Herr Mojsisovics, the 
Secretary of the Austrian Alpen-Verein. Our reception 
at Grampenhofe was most friendly ; the weather was 
charming, and promised well for the morrow ; and as we 
lay stretched at our ease upon the soft turf, quaffing 
bowls of creamy milk, in full view of the Orteler and 
Konigsspitz, recalling pleasant memories of past triumphs, 
and anticipating fresh victories, we might be pardoned if 
our reflections were at times of an exultant order, as we 
rested in happy unconsciousness of what a few hours were 
to bring forth. 

Travellers in the Suldenthal usually avail themselves 
of the hospitality of the worthy Greistlicher at St. Gertrud 
(or Sulden), about half-an-hour lower down the valley, 
but Grampenhofe itself, being inhabited throughout the 
year, furnishes better quarters than are usually to be met 




Sie. schlafe 



A NIGHT ADVENTURE IN THE SULDENTHAL. 163 

with at so considerable an elevation (6,165 feet), and 
within a quarter of an hour of the foot of the glacier ; 
half-an-hour, too, is worth saving in a long day's work, so 
we decided to let well alone, and contented ourselves 
with sending Christian and Franz down in the course of 
the afternoon for fresh supplies of cheese, bread, and wine, 
with which they returned in time for the evening meal. 
One by one the various members of the household dropped 
in, and as soon as the table was cleared, a little entertain- 
ment was improvised for our worthy hosts and their 
family, in the shape of sundry simple conjuring tricks, 
winding up with a display of 6 drawing-room lightning ' 
and magnesium wire, a small store of which portable 
articles can highly be recommended to mountaineers, as 
an unfailing means of making themselves agreeable to 
the simple Alpine folk. Amidst shouts of 'Was fur 
Kunst ! ' 6 Das ist Hexerei ! ' and peals of merry laughter, 
an hour passed away, and just as we began to hint at bed, 
the arrival of a small outlying Greisbube, whose duties as 
a sort of pastoral long-stop had detained him late afield, 
thus causing him to miss the fun, was hailed by all as an 
excuse for a repetition of the special wonders, till we were 
obliged to insist on the absolute necessity of betaking 
ourselves to rest. The supply of hay being small, it was 
allotted to the guides, who retired to a neighbouring 
grange, whilst our hospitable hostess made up a com- 
fortable bed for B. and me on the floor of the cozy Stube, 



164 A NIGHT ADVENTURE IN THE SULDENTHAL. 

on which we stretched ourselves about 8*30, after giving 
instructions to be called a little after midnight. 

All had been quiet for about an hour, and B. and I 
were buried deep in our first sleep, when we were both 
startled and roused by a loud noise, and in a moment the 
room was half filled with a noisy gesticulating crowd of 
armed men. At first, between sleeping and waking, we 
half imagined them to be robbers, and I almost mechani- 
cally sat up in bed with a vague idea of seizing one of 
our ice-axes, which lay under a bench near at hand. A 
moment, however, sufficed to show that they were regular 
soldiers, two or three of whom advanced upon us with 
fixed bayonets pointed at our breasts, whilst those in the 
rear proceeded to load their rifles in the most business- 
like and unpleasantly suggestive manner. They shouted 
to us in Italian and Grerman to lie down and not stir, or 
they would shoot us, and on our complying, with the 
remark that we wished nothing better and should like to 
know why we were thus disturbed and what they wanted, 
proceeded to put to us a string of enquiries as to whether 
we were Italians, whether we could speak Italian, how we 
came there, &c, without giving us time to reply. It is 
not easy to answer violent interrogatories as you lie flat- 
on your back, and I again attempted to sit up in bed, but 
was immediately treated to a vigorous pantomime exe- 
cuted with bayonets, which unmistakably suggested an 
6 as you were ' movement. It was all very well for B. to 



A NIGHT ADVENTURE IN THE SULDENTHAL. 165 

laugh, being himself inside and protected as to his 
flank by me on one side and a table on the other, and 
with an all but bomb-proof duvet over all, so that he 
would have ample time to parley whilst our assailants 
were engaged, as John Bunyan says, in ' drilling a hole 
in my carnal kettle past mending.' Possibly, however, 
my thinness and the length of our assailants' bayonets 
suggested the idea that he too might be spitted simul- 
taneously ; but, at any rate, when some of the men 
again addressed us in Italian, he gave them a condensed 
statement of facts, interspersed with bits of his mind, 
in that language of which he is a master. Feeling 
stronger in Teutonic tongues myself, and cunningly re- 
flecting that, as it was clear they took us to be Italians, 
it would be best to avoid all appearance of such evil 
tendencies, I still stuck manfully to German, and dis- 
charged it vigorously at an angle of 90° from my recum- 
bent position. The sudden waking, the semi-darkness, 
and the general noise and tumult, coupled with the 
strangely excited demeanour of our visitors, their use of 
Italian, and our own confused impressions, at first sug- 
gested the theory that they too might have crossed the 
frontier; but as soon as we were fairly awake, we at 
once perceived that we had fallen into the hands of an 
Austrian patrol. After a short time the sub-officer in 
command, and a police official who accompanied him, 
came forward, whilst a party was detached to secure 



166 A NIGHT ADVENTURE IN THE SULDENTHAL. 

our companions in. the hayloft, who presently made 
their appearance, looking rather solemn and evidently 
a good deal ruffled, but keeping their tempers admi- 
rably and offering no resistance, though they had been 
stirred up in their nest with as little ceremony as our- 
selves. We were now told that we might rise and put on 
our coats, in the absence of which we had no documentary 
proof of our nationality. We answered all their questions, 
assured them that they had made a mistake and found a 
mare's nest, exhibited our passports, the correctness of 
which they could not dispute, and, when informed that we 
must submit to be searched, gave up the contents of our 
pockets without hesitation. I must say it went to my 
heart to surrender my note-book with numerous sketches 
and all my memoranda of the journey, as well as sundry 
maps, both printed and manuscript ; but I was almost 
consoled by the terror of the officer when he felt from the 
outside the pipe which I carried in my right coat-pocket, 
and made a convulsive grab at it, exclaiming, ' Sie haben 
da eine Pistole ! Greben Sie's mir ! ' The truth is, that 
in a spirit of mischief I had just before asked him 
whether he had secured our arms, and on his asking, 
with a most comical expression of consternation at this 
confirmation of his worst suspicions, where they were, had 
referred him to the bench beneath which our axes were 
still peacefully reposing. These were entrusted to four 
soldiers, but the mention of weapons suggested further 





Das !*«" tinePi stale* 




nit w.me-n all *\<Lt. w'.rfi rftt. ptiSon.r^ 




AV Frontier 1'ooka a little, dangerous '. 



A NIGHT ADVENTURE IN THE SULDENTHAL. 167 

investigation, and involved my pipe in undeserved suspi- 
cion. ( Fiirchten Sie nicht ; es ist nicht geladen,' said I, 
and with an essentially Grerman sympathy for a ' Raucher ' 
it was at once returned to me. Our purses, watches, and 
small articles of value, such as pencil-cases, were left in 
our possession, and the articles seized were carefully 
packed in a copy of the Evening Mail, which found 
itself in the same predicament. The search being now 
completed, we were informed that we must proceed under 
escort to Gromagoi, on the Stelvio road between Prad and 
Trafoi, and nearly opposite the opening of the Suldenthal, 
there to have our fate decided in the morning by the 
officer in command of the Fort. We protested that our 
passports were all right, that our statements were thus 
fully and satisfactorily confirmed, and that they were 
making a fuss about nothing; but they replied with a 
military sense of duty, ( It might be so, or it might not ; 
the decision did not rest with them ; they had positive 
orders to bring us down forthwith, and go we must.' On 
this we, of course, gave way with a good grace, thinking 
it impolitic to aggravate them, as they were doubtless only 
acting up to their instructions, and knowing that any- 
thing like resistance was not to be thought of. So at 
ten, or a little after, we bade good-bye to the group of 
trembling peasants who had gathered around, and, pre- 
ceded by an individual in plain clothes bearing a lantern, 
whom I strongly suspect to have been the cause of our 



68 A NIGHT ADVENTURE IN THE SULDENTHAL. 

arrest, we issued forth into the darkness. The inspection 
of the passports had evidently not been without effect on 
the official mind, and we were, accordingly, allowed to 
march in any order we pleased, but, by way of precaution, 
were not indulged with the possession of our axes. The 
path, more particularly below St. Grertrud, was bad, and 
in places either carried away by, or at least buried 
beneath avalanches, over which it was not easy to pick 
one's way in the dark without an occasional slip, and in 
more than one place, if we had chosen to make a rush 
altogether, a majority might probably have given our 
captors the slip, at least for the moment. Larking with 
armed men who have a duty to carry out is, however, 
neither wise nor safe, and we conducted ourselves lite- 
rally in a guarded manner. The men were civil, and 
stood a little gentle chaff after their pipes were once well 
alight, — at last even admitting that the affair might pos- 
sibly turn out to be after all a ' dumme Greschichte ; ' and 
we enjoyed the variety, novelty, and spice of excitement 
of our situation, though vexed at the disturbance of our 
sleep, the overturning of the plans for the next day, and 
the possible risk of the loss of our possessions if the 
Commandant at Gromagoi should prove to be a martinet 
or red-tapist, and, choosing to ignore the existence of 
such a pursuit as mountaineering, interpret notes and 
sketches as being of evil tendency. 

It was between 1 and 2 A.M. when we pulled up on the 



A NIGHT ADVENTURE IN THE SULDENTHAL. 169 

familiar Stelvio road a little below the Fort, and, on the 
return of a messenger sent forward for instructions as to 
our disposal, were marched into the inn at Gromagoi, and 
shown into an upstairs room with two beds, in one of which 
the guides, and in the other B. and I, were directed to 
bestow ourselves. A sentinel, with fixed bayonet, was 
stationed inside the door, whilst a couple more, I believe, 
occupied the landing, and as we settled ourselves into a 
sound and refreshing sleep, I was really sorry to have been 
the means of giving so much trouble to our luckless cap- 
tors, who were far worse off than ourselves. 

We rose soon after five, invigorated by three hours' 
rest, and were informed that we must be ready to proceed 
at six to the frontier station of Der Schmelz, a little above 
Prad, where our guard seemed to imagine that our case 
would finally be disposed of. Water was supplied for 
washing, and little acts of civility were performed, which 
led us to believe that they were conscious of having made 
a mistake and performed their duty in the night with 
needless severity, though from first to last there had really 
been little to complain of, the preliminary threats of per- 
sonal violence having evidently resulted from the belief 
that, being spies, we must of course be armed, and if 
suffered to rise, might show fight and give trouble. 

During our walk I had enquired the name of the 
Commandant at the Fort, but our captors either could not 
or would not enlighten me, and I was naturally anxious to 



170 A NIGHT ADVENTURE IN THE SULDENTHAL. 

know what sort of man we should have to deal with, as 
the fate of our note-books, sketches, &c, as well as the 
length of our detention, might a good deal depend on his 
disposition and sympathies. On announcing that we were 
ready to start, we were requested first to step into an 
adjoining room, where we found the Commandant — Ober- 
Lieutenant Grustav Tomek — standing by a table on which 
were placed our passports and other possessions. I com- 
menced the conversation with an expression of regret at 
having been the cause of so much needless trouble, and a 
hint that the Herr Commandant was doubtless by this time 
aware that an unfortunate mistake had been made. He 
at once replied that he had, of course, no idea till he saw 
our passports in the morning who or what we were, as the 
hour of our arrival had prevented his being at once com- 
municated with. 6 And now,' he added, turning to me, 6 if 
you are Herr T., permit me to say that, whilst regretting the 
circumstances under which we meet, I have much pleasure 
in making your personal acquaintance. For you are, in 
fact, already well known to me through our mutual friend 
Mojsisovics, who spent four or five days with me here last 
year. If you see him, pray give him my very kind 
regards, and say that I am very sorry to have caused 
annoyance to any friends of his.' s You know, however,' 
he added, ' that these are critical times, especially on this 
frontier ; and as a report was brought to me yesterday by a 
peasant, that four strangers had reached the head of the 



A NIGHT ADVENTURE IN THE SULDENTHAL. 171 

Suldenthal from the Italian side, and were making en- 
quiries as to the number of troops at Gromagoi, &c, I 
was bound to send up a patrol to enquire into the matter.' 
I need hardly say that the story about our enquiries was a 
pure invention of the messenger, as B. and I had carefully 
abstained from opening our lips on the subject, and the 
guides, who we at first conjectured might have said some- 
thing on the subject when they went down to St. Grertrud, 
did not, it appeared, know enough of the geography to be 
aware even of the existence of such a place as Gromagoi. 
I subsequently heard that about a fortnight previously 
two strangers, said to be suspicious in appearance, had been 
seen somewhere in the Suldenthal by a woman, who at 
first said nothing about it to anyone, and had been a good 
deal blamed in consequence. When we appeared, it was 
resolved that the blunder should not this time be repeated ; 
hence no time was lost in informing the authorities. Had 
we reached Grampenhofe three or four hours later, we 
should probably have effected a start for Bormio before 
the patrol could have arrived, 'and in our light marching 
order and fine training, aided by superior local knowledge, 
should doubtless have easily given them the slip. 

Eeassured by the Commandant's friendly tone, I en- 
quired whether we might resume possession of our pro- 
perty and consider ourselves released from arrest, and at 
liberty to proceed. He at once assented, remarking, as he 
glanced at the outlines and maps, ' These are doubtless 



172 A NIGHT ADVENTURE IN THE SULDENTHAL. 

topographical sketches for mountaineering purposes. No 
further explanation is necessary ; take them by all means. 
And now you must present yourselves at Der Schmelz, just 
to get your passports vised for departure from Austrian 
territory, after which, if you desire to return to the 
Suldenthal, which I think can be arranged, and you have 
time to give me a call, I shall be happy to see you. This 
road being now closed, the police may not understand how 
you come to be descending the pass, so I will send some 
one with you to make all needful explanation, and as you 
must be hungry, and a much better breakfast is to be had 
at Prad than here, I advise you to start at once, and will 
wish you a very good morning and a pleasant journey 
whatever route you may take.' Shaking hands very 
heartily with our kind and gentlemanly friend and the 
pleasant young officer who accompanied him, as well as 
with the leader of the patrol, we set forth down the valley, 
congratulating ourselves on our good fortune in getting 
out of the scrape with such flying colours, and heartily 
blessing, I need hardly say, the name of Mojsisovics. 

At Der Schmelz there was unfortunately only a subor- 
dinate official, who informed us that he had received posi- 
tive instructions to allow no one to cross into Italy by 
that frontier, and did not see the force of our suggestion 
that the prohibition of course referred to the Stelvio Pass, 
and not to a passage over the glaciers from the Suldenthal 
to Val Zebru. He was civil but firm, and we did not 



A NIGHT ADVENTURE IN THE SULDENTHAL. 173 

contest the point, especially as our companion intimated 
that he thought he could suggest a way of getting over 
the difficulty ; so our passports were duly made good for 
an e Ausgang,' and adjourning to the inn with our friend, 
we discussed over breakfast the idea at which he had 
hinted. This was to proceed to Grlnrns, see the 6 Bezirk- 
Vorsteher,' who was the chef of him of Der Schmelz, and 
obtain his special authorisation to carry out our original 
object. In the event of his refusal, we could enter Switz- 
erland by Val Mustair, and either reach the Engadine by 
the Ofen Pass, or make for Sta. Maria on the "W. side of 
the Stelvio, via the Wormser Joch. Wishing him good- 
bye, we set out for Grlurns, saw the superior official, and 
laid our case before him. He was very polite, said that 
his instructions would hardly have warranted him in 
granting our request, but that our being friends of the 
Commandant of course altered the case materially ; and if 
we could obtain that gentleman's written permission, he 
had not the slightest objection to endorse it. We thanked 
him, but considering that this would involve another 
double journey to and fro between Grlurns and Gromagoi, 
as well as entail a somewhat unreasonable responsibility 
on Ober-Lieutenant Tomek; that the weather did not 
look likely to continue fine the next day ; and that we 
might even meet from the Italians at Bormio with a repe- 
tition of our recent adventure, we decided to adopt the 
safer course, give no further trouble, and, leaving well 

M 



174 A NIGHT ADVENTURE IN THE SULDENTHAL. 

alone, slip over the frontier into Switzerland. I was con- 
firmed in this determination by the consideration that, 
after all, we might bag the Klein-Zebru next day from 
Sta. Maria by crossing the Madatsch Joch and skirting 
the slopes on the N. side of Val Zebru beneath the Tra- 
foier and Thurwieser Spitzen, and then ^descend the valley 
to Bormio in the evening. 

We started accordingly in a carriage for Sta. Maria, in 
the Miinsterthal (Val Mustair), and then strolled up by 
the Wormser Joch — the lower portion of which is very 
beautiful — to the fourth or highest cantoniera on the 
Stelvio, around which the snow still lay deep. The Swiss 
portion of the Miinsterthal was in a ferment, as an entire 
battalion of Federal troops was expected the next day, 
and every available sleeping-place had been engaged for 
officers or men. At the cantoniera there were no soldiers, 
and only a couple of custom-house officials, who declined 
even to look at our passports when tendered for their in- 
spection. 

We soon turned into bed, net having had a super- 
abundance of sleep for two nights previously, and gave 
instructions to be called between two and three. The 
people of the house, however, failed to awake, and though 
we roused about three and the guides still earlier, we 
were unable for a long time to stir up anybody, the con- 
sequence of which was that it was five o'clock before we 
got under way. 



A NIGHT ADVENTUKE IN THE SULDENTHAL. 175 

We proceeded first to the top of the Stelvio to inspect 
the Italian frontier-post, which we found, to our surprise, 
to consist of only about a dozen national guards and a 
couple of douaniers, who looked cold and miserable, as if 
uncomfortably conscious that they were utterly incapable 
of offering a moment's resistance to the Austrian force, 
about tenfold more numerous, which crowned the crest of 
the ridge just above them, within easy musket range. 
Looking up, we could see the line of heads and glittering 
barrels peering over the rocky arete which runs in a 
northerly direction from the summit of the pass, and so 
completely dominates the small building usually tenanted 
by a couple of frontier guards, that it seemed as though 
the occupiers might be compelled to beat a retreat by five 
minutes' vigorous pelting with stones. 

We mentioned our intention of crossing into Val Zebru 
by the glaciers, but the Italians assured us that Austrian 
vedettes were stationed along the frontier for a considerable 
distance to the south of the Stelvio Pass, in the direction 
of the Video-Spitz, and that, though anyone attempting to 
cross by the regular road would probably be merely turned 
back, they would not hesitate to fire if the frontier were 
passed at a higher, or unusual and therefore suspicious 
point. Under these circumstances they recommended us 
at any rate to keep well away to the right on the Italian 
side; so, thanking them for their advice and information, and 
wishing them well out of their unpleasant position, which 

M 2 



176 A NIGHT ADVENTURE IN THE SULDENTHAL. 

they were allowed to hold undisturbed for only three days 
longer, we started off up the slopes to the S.W. for a 
depression which looked as though it might give access to 
the mass of snow and ice radiating from the Nagler-Spitz. 
The snow was in "bad order, it was by this time nearly 
six o'clock, the weather looked threatening, and when the 
supposed col was gained, it was found to lead nowhere in 
particular, except into a snow-filled hollow terminating 
opposite the third cantoniera. We must either have de- 
scended nearly 1,000 feet and then worked laboriously up 
steep slopes of soft snow on the left, or at once have pro- 
ceeded in the latter direction in full view of the Austrian 
post, and with the probability of being compelled after all 
to cross the frontier within range. A council of war was 
held, and we at length decided that, if we persisted and 
got into a scrape, we should have nobody but ourselves to 
blame, and might expect small sympathy from anyone else; 
that the weather was not such as to offer any particular 
temptation to run a known and definite risk ; and that, all 
things considered, the most sensible course was to make 
straight tracks for the high road, and proceed down it to 
Bormio and Sondrio. Christian and Franz were, I believe, 
heartily glad when this determination was arrived at, for 
though perfectly ready to do their best to carry out our 
plans, whatever they might be, they had no desire again to 
fall into the clutches of the Austrians under suspicious cir- 
cumstances; and as the day remained cloudy, the feeling of 



A NIGHT ADVENTURE IN THE SULDENTHAL. 177 

disappointment gradually wore off from our own minds. At 
Bormio, and indeed throughout the Valtelline, no soldiers 
were to be seen, and we sympathised with the unfortunate 
manager of the Bagni, whose only expected guests were the 
company of the Kaiser-Jager regiment we had seen in the 
morning, and whose downward swoop was in truth not long 
delayed. 

I cannot conclude without bearing my willing and 
grateful testimony to the almost universal civility, honesty, 
and forbearance of Austrian officials, at any rate on Grer- 
man ground ; and if anything I may have said in the fore- 
going pages should lead to a contrary inference, I can 
only regret that I should have so far failed to present the 
circumstances of the case in their true light. Boisterous 
and denunciatory language, impatience of contradiction 
or restraint, and an unlimited belief in the free-and- 
independent-Briton theory, combined with a fair amount 
of ignorance of the language, more often than is supposed 
underlie the difficulties in which our countrymen get in- 
volved from time to time on the Continent ; and without 
pretending to be immaculate in these respects, I may 
perhaps be allowed to urge the desirability of a little more 
patience with employes, whose duty it is to carry out their 
instructions, whatever they may be. 



ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 



' But yet there is a time 

Before the Vesper chime 
From nestling birds, and odorous leaves ascending, 

When in the west, tie sun, 

His day's work almost done, 
0'er_ purple clouds is for his farewell bending; 

Then every icy crest, 

And every marble breast, 
With sudden life doth seem to heave and glow; 

Touch'd by those ardent beams, 

A golden glory streams 
O'er adamantine heights and caves of snow, 

And, blushing rosy red 

With joy, each radiant head 
In ether springs to meet the parting kiss- 
Then every snow-white brow 

Doth humbly seem to bow, 
And sink to rest in quiet thankfulness.' 

Poems by S. H. P. 



ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 



/^VUR first visit to Ischl was in May, 1866. The uq- 
^ usually late season had changed for the moment the 
face of Europe, a prolonged shiver ran through the country, 
the sun, when it did shine, was wonderfully feeble and 
helpless, the trees gave up budding as a hopeless matter 
till better times came, and grass and flowers kept them- 
selves as warm as they were able under the snow, which 
still had its own way in everything, making hills and 
fir-branches beautiful as a dream, seen through a fretwork 
of tiny frost sprays which decorated the windows of our 
little mountain-inn every morning. The water in the 
village fountains was frozen, and there were icicles on the 
rocks beside the roads. We travelled through the country 
under a mass of cloaks and shawls, and within the shelter 
of a big Stellwagen ; and our first care at each- day's halting- 
place was to see that the largest possible fires were lit in 
the cavernous stoves, and that all the windows were firmly 
closed, and everything eatable made as hot as possible. 
We had reached Salzburg on the 23rd of May, and 



182 ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

listened to mournful tales of the weather and the injury 
to the crops and the people's fears for the future, and 
going to sleep under the weight of these prognostications, 
woke to some pleasant sunshine and a general brightening 
of the outside world. 

It would take many weeks to exhaust the interests of 
the whole district surrounding Salzburg. The landlord of 
the Nelbok, a first-rate house, tried to persuade us to make 
it our head-quarters, the old city is full of interest with its 
grand castle crowning the hill which rises abruptly from 
the midst of walls and houses, a splendid bit of old mediae- 
val power — full of memories of proud ecclesiastics, princes 
of the empire, who, when danger threatened, carried their 
archiepiscopal croziers up to the higher battlements, and 
defied peasants and Kaiser alike. Murray says, ' Salzburg 
by common consent is allowed to be the most beautiful 
spot in Germany.' With all due deference for such an 
authority it must be admitted that the common consent 
assumes that in speaking of the city you include the 
district that surrounds it, and for ordinary tourists Ischl, 
Grmunden, and Berchtesgaden are pleasanter points of 
departure — to those, at least, who prefer a foreground of 
woods and hills to mere streets and houses, even though 
their foundations date back to the Eomans and are rich 
in legendary lore. Mozart was born in a dwelling still 
standing near the University Church, and his statue by 
Schwanthaler may be seen in the centre of the Michael's 



ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 183 

Platz, within sound of the chimes from the Palace Tower 
hard by, where the bells ring out softly, e Es klingelt so 
herrlich, es klingelt so schon ' and the tones of his own 
beautiful Zaiiberflote float round the image of the great 
dead master. 

Salzburg is almost encircled by a chain of Alps through 
which the Salza passes to join the Danube, and the plain 
is rich with fields and meadows, luxuriant trees, villas and 
homesteads, a riant landscape pleasantly contrasting with 
its more rugged surroundings. 

We started in two large carriages, which throughout 
the Salzkammergut and Bavaria are invariably good and 
cheap, and drove away towards Ischl. But suddenly, 
as we were trotting merrily along the high road, car- 
riage number two came to grief; a young horse shied 
violently, tumbling its companion over into a deep ditch, 
with a general upsetting of people and vehicle that was 
anything but pleasant. Matters, however, were soon set 
right, the sufferers were picked up, condoled with, 
brushed, shaken, congratulated, and put back into their 
places ; the ill-behaved horse secured a day's holiday, and 
was sent home to its stable, apparently unabashed by the 
disgrace ; a second appeared in a mysterious manner from 
a barn hard by, and the travellers resumed their journey. 
Long files of soldiers, many of them composed of young 
recruits, passed us on their way to Salzburg, where each 
day large detachments arrived, bivouacked on hay in the 



184 ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

great riding-school, and then marched southward to their 
various depots. 

The scene was very lovely in the morning light, and as 
we came into a more sheltered country, it was wonderful 
to see what spring had done with the help of a few days 
of brighter weather ; the snow had melted from the dark 
green of the firs and pines, the beeches shone between them 
with their soft powdering of golden green buds, some 
newly-cut hay scented the air, and was drying on high 
poles, but as yet the fields were undisturbed for the most 
part, to our great content, and brilliant with flowers. Often 
they seemed covered with a crimson or lilac or purple haze 
of colour, where some especial plant had made its home ; 
a delicate rainbow, sparkling through the dew, might have 
fallen on the grass, and been held captive by the swift- 
spun webs of the busy little gossamers. Filling up every 
distant view, a fair snow-peak shone in its winter drapery, 
white and glistening, looking a great deal higher than it 
really was through the magic aid of its adornment, and 
pleasantly imposing on our senses, though one of the 
travellers, who was scientific and learned in theodolites, 
always endeavoured to anchor us to facts and the stern 
truth of things. 

We were deluded into stopping at St. Gilgen to dine — 
a mistake which in later journeys we have been careful 
to avoid. There is a charming lake, the Wolfgang See 
and the Wirthshaus is an old-established halting-place, 




-%1 



*5 n 










ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 185 

and roomy enough to supply the needs of many passing 
travellers; but the host was dead, and the Wirthin was 
given to strong liquors, and the management generally 
seemed to have devolved on a rather dilapidated Kellnerin, 
who had an unappetising way of wiping the forks in the 
dinner-napkins between the courses, which were repetitions 
of ham and eggs under various disguisements more or less 
successful, but inclining to the latter. There was a great 
dog who came to be petted, and who apologised in his 
dumb way for the deficiencies of the inn, and was quite the 
best thing belonging to it. 

From St. Grilgen an easy ascent of three hours brings 
you to the summit of the Schafberg, nearly 6,000 feet 
high, from whence a fine view may be obtained of the 
whole district of woods and lakes, a perfect vue en ballon 
for those who like to get their ideas of a country systemati- 
cally aranged. There is a good hotel on the summit, where 
all the delights of sunrise on a cold morning, the usual attack 
on the blankets of the establishment, and other remini- 
scences of the Eighi Kulm may be revived, pleasantly or 
otherwise, according to the state of wind and weather. 

We reached Ischl by a rapid descent, the road winding 
amongst clustering trees and pretty houses nestling in the 
shelter of the hills. The little town is simply a collection 
of pleasure-houses, the oldest of which only date back for 
forty years or so, dwellings and gardens, boulevard and 
Kurhaus, that have grown up when and how they liked 



186 ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

around the Emperor's beautiful little villa, and the saline 
springs that are the nominal excuse for the gay world who 
later in the year find their pleasure in this sheltered 
valley amongst the hills. The place must be warm in 
August, as these same hills are thickly clothed with trees, 
and the town is shut in by them on all sides, save where 
the busy river goes splashing and foaming over the stones 
towards the south, doing a great amount of business on its 
way, as it has to float down the thousands of logs which 
are lying ready stored along its banks. Everywhere one 
sees saw-mills busily at work and shallows where the water 
is kept back by a dam, and the wood is collected. The 
logs are left in a gigantic circle, packed tightly together, 
and bound effectually by narrow pieces of wood which 
form a cordon round it, till at a convenient season they are 
let loose from the Klause, and set off for an independent 
race that used to afford us endless amusement. As we 
drove beside the river, we delighted in watching the more 
adventurous pieces of wood, becoming interested in them 
individually, backing our favourites, and noticing with 
keen anxiety when they approached a shallow and were in 
danger of being stranded, or of being caught in the whirl 
of a rapid. Some weeks later, we came upon a fresh store 
of wood floating down the Inn in a deep gorge below 
Nauders, and we looked sympathising^ at the logs that 
were dancing about in the rush and swirl of the river — 
kaiserliches konigliches Holz, with strong Austrian pro- 



ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 187 

clivities, going helplessly into the very grasp of its 
southern foes ; for just then the frontier was well guarded 
by Italian sharpshooters, and the Grerman logs, if they 
ever went too near the shore, might be made into watch- 
fires and condemned to warm their enemies, though at the 
worst they would have the satisfaction of being too damp 
to do much more than smoke ! 

But meanwhile war was only a thunder-cloud in the 
distance, and above Ischl at least the sky was clear, and 
there was warmth and sunshine to gladden us. We took 
up our quarters in the best of hotels, the Goldenes Kreuz, 
where the kind people did their utmost to make us com- 
fortable. We had rooms a discretion, as there was no one 
else there but one solitary Hungarian on the other side of 
the house. The old landlord and his wife are thrifty good- 
hearted Grermans ; Madame a capital Hausfrau, reigning 
over a pleasant little kingdom, a beautiful mountain farm, 
from which large supplies of fresh milk came down in 
barrels, and turned into cream and cheese and butter 
under her skilful hands and those of her bright-faced 
Madchen. The i son of the house ' is a clever well-edu- 
cated man, who does his utmost to make the hotel com- 
fortable, and with whom our father enjoyed many long 
talks over fishing tackle and sport, visiting with Herr 
Sarsteiner his trout-nurseries, and discussing the pro- 
mise of the coming season. He rents all the rights of 
fishing about Ischl, and is a keen sportsman ; and as he 



188 ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

speaks English well, anyone anxious for triumphs over 
Forellen or Reh or Gemse could not do better than place 
themselves in his hands. The hotel is unpretending- 
looking, but thoroughly comfortable, the horses and car- 
riages are good, and the rooms cool and pleasant. The 
windows look down upon a tributary stream, or branch of 
the main river, which is divided up in every imaginable 
way to suit the fancy of the Salinenwerke and saw-mills, 
and across it to the Imperial villa and its gay gardens, 
which climb up the slope and lose themselves in shady 
wood- walks. The royal house is quite small, a toy-palace 
with verandahs and creeping flowers and pretty little de- 
vices of spiral iron staircases hidden away under clematis 
blossoms. It multiplies itself in numbers of tiny erections, 
each smaller than the rest, like a Chinese box of houses, 
in which all can fit one into the other. There is a kitchen 
with a covered arcade, and one is puzzled to know how 
the Imperial dishes can come all that long way, even under 
bowers of roses, without becoming prosaically chilled. 
The" hall of the villa is ornamented with the heads and 
horns of game in Tyrol fashion, and there is a pretty 
fanciful Lusthaus halfway up the garden slope, with a 
tiny library, and a drawing-room, and more light veran- 
dahs and clematis and Virginian creeper, which must be 
in all the glory of its colouring when the sweet young 
Empress comes there for some idle hours with her little 
children in the pleasant country quietness. Higher still 



ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 189 

there is another summer-house, a size smaller, and open 
on all sides to the breezes, which must be much needed 
here, and then there comes the wood, full of shady places 
and seats arranged so as to command lovely distant peeps 
through the trees, and coffee may be served here some- 
times and fresh milk to the fair court ladies who, weary- 
ing of state dignity, and even of the Kiosk and the 
Pagoda, seek 'Nature at her source,' which means sitting 
on the grass when it is rather damp, listening enraptured 
to the songs of the birds and the hum of the insects, 
being stung by the midges, and finding an earwig in your 
ripest peach ! We grew very fond of that garden, which is 
generously thrown open to the public during the spring 
months, and spent many long hours wandering about its 
walks. 

Our first morning at Ischl dawned in a glow of sudden 
heat. Summer seemed to have come in a moment, and we 
spent our Sunday in the woods, choosing a sunny spot to 
bask in ; and there, in the sweet country quietness, with 
little bright-eyed lizards as our only companions, except a 
stray peasant strolling home from mass, and the water far 
below making a pleasant music over the stones, we read 
the lessons and psalms to that tinkling accompaniment, 
and a sermon, which was fortunately a short one, as we 
were nearly frizzled before the end, having in our delight 
at welcoming the sun again, ventured to camp out too 
directly in his way, and we were glad to seek the deep 



190 ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

shade of the pine wood, where the wild strawberry blossoms, 
which were as large as our cultivated ones in England, 
made fair white stars amidst the moss and leaves. 

We hunted out a wood-stream which sprang out of the 
ground from a shelving bank of brown earth and leaves 
matted together with ivy and ferns and creeping plants, 
and here we lay down and dipped our heads into the water, 
drinking and bathing at once, and, as we rested on the 
grass, dreamed that it was all untrue that ' Pan was dead,' 
and traced the little footmarks on the crumpled leaves, 
where sweet sandalled feet had passed before us, and as 
the sunlight flickered through the greenness and ran in 
and out amongst the stems of the trees, to our half-shut 
eyes came a vision of tawny Dryads, brown-eyed and 
laughing, circling in a mazy dance around their magic 
spring. I do not think many people have ever found it 
out: for two years we have sat beside it, and drank the 
clear water and dreamed our pleasant dreams. But amongst 
those who visit Ischl some may long to find our Quelle, 
some may chance upon it unawares. There are few land- 
marks to remember, and another's words can give them 
better than mine : — 

' Oh, the sweet valley of deep grass, 
"Where through the summer stream doth pass, 
In chain of shallow, and still pool, 
From misty morn to evening cool ; 
Where the black ivy creeps and twines 
O'er the dark-armed, red-trunked pines, 



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ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 191 

Whence chattering the pigeon flits, • * 

Or, brooding o'er her thin eggs, sits, 
And every hollow of the hills 
With echoing song the mavis fills.'* 

We wandered home through the woods having a good 
' paper hunt.' Our father had preceded us, declining to 
join in our Pan- heroics on the ground of a general damp- 
ness, which he had the hardihood to say detracted from 
the merits of our Quelle, leaving sundry pieces of the 
Allgemeine Zeitung on the branches to guide our steps. 
We had a grand scramble, getting suddenly caught in 
boggy places the sun had not had time to dry, losing our- 
selves in by-paths that led nowhere, and coming upon bits 
of the river as usual shut up for Klausen and full of logs, 
and at last emerging on to the high road and the covered 
bridge leading into Ischl. 

The baths and medicinal springs are of various kinds ; 
beginning with the ordinary hot and cold baths common 
to all peoples and countries where water can be obtained 
and be persuaded to boil, the favourite ones are those 
supplied by the liquor (Soolenbdder) drawn off from the 
salt-pans after a portion of salt has been extracted from 
the brine. This contains a strong solution of chloride of 
sodium, and is let down with water from the river or from 
a sulphurous spring in the neighbourhood, according to 
the needs or fancies of doctors and patients. There are 

* Morris. 
N 



192 ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

also vapour baths, little cupboards considerately con- 
structed in the roof of the evaporating house, which thus 
combines business and pleasure, visitors being enabled to 
sit in the steam as it ascends from the boiling brine which 
is being converted into cakes of salt below. 

There are people of wonderful constitutions to be found 
who can live through almost any amount of medical 
cures ; but ours being less hardy, we found three minutes' 
breathing of the salt vapour as much as body and mind 
could bear without evaporating altogether. 

There are two mud-baths, or Schlammbader, made from 
the refuse slime of the salt-mine reservoirs, but these were 
depths into which we declined to penetrate. 

The woods round Ischl have been laid out with much 
care, with good level roads, or winding paths, and there 
are seats and summer resting-places at all the best points 
of view. The favourite drive and promenade is through 
the wood at the side of the river, where are several Quellen 
and tokens of Imperial favour in the form of ornamental 
stonework, statues, inscriptions, &c. Through this wood 
you pass to Laufen on your road to Hallstadt or Grmun- 
den ; but many may prefer a journey altogether by water, 
and the pleasant excitement of encountering a succession of 
rapids larger or smaller in a little boat, or on one of the 
great salt-barges that are constantly floated down the 
stream. It is a wonderful sight to watch these great un- 
wieldy vessels shooting the rapids at Gmunden, where the 



ISCHL AND ITS SUEROUNDINGS. 193 

Traun, flowing through the lake, rushes down a precipi- 
tous slope between narrowing banks on its way to the falls 
below. The shouts of the men, the promise of prompt 
action in case of danger, and their utter powerlessness 
against the tremendous force which they are seeking to 
utilize, the roar and dash of the water, and the sight of 
the heavily-laden barge, floating like a log at the sport of 
the waves, running apparently to instant destruction, and 
cleverly steered by the men between the threatening 
rocks, make a picture whose force and energy is not soon 
to be forgotten. 

An easy drive of from one to two hours brought us to 
the shores of the Hallstadt See, from whence some sturdy 
maidens rowed us, in one of the great flat-bottomed high- 
prowed boats, to the little town, which lies on the very edge 
of the water, or rather clings to the rocks above. Eoad 
there is none, the houses grow on to the stones like lim- 
pets, and are brown and shining as though the wood had 
been freshly soaked, with black timbers here and there, 
and some are built out upon piles, amongst which the 
green water moves with a pleasant lapping sound, catching 
fresh ripples of colour as the sunlight plays upon the 
wooden sides, or bright-faced children lean out to throw a 
stone below, and send a reflex of dimples and rosy cheeks 
or a little scarlet bodice into the circle of quivering light 
to which the water steadies back after the splash. 

N.2 



194 ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

As we were moved along by the slow steady sweeps of 
the oars, the scene was exquisitely beautiful, the lake still 
and clear, with trees and banks and towering hills mirrored 
so faithfully that one began to grow giddy in the uncer- 
tainty as to who or which was upside down ! 

' Inverted in the tide 

Stand the gray rocks, and trembling shadows throw ; 
And the fair trees look over, side by side, 
And see themselves below.' 

We landed at a little garden pier belonging to the inn, 
where was a very small steamer already high and dry in 
the middle of the flowers, under the hands of some very 
idle workmen. A jodel greeted us from a stone terrace 
high over head, some of the party having preceded us, and 
we were soon installed in a little balcony-salon over the 
water, where we dined and fished vainly for trout or Sal- 
bling, and then wandered through the meadows, seeing 
F. and his guides on their way towards the Dachstein, a 
snow-giant who was to be comfortably conquered before 
they rejoined us at Krimml, in preparation for which they 
had arranged to sleep at some chalets higher up, and 
make an early start next day by moonlight. 

Hallstadt, like many of the Italian towns on the Cor- 
niche, seems part of the ground against which it has grown ; 
the hill might have been honeycombed by many diligent 
workers, so embedded are the houses in the rock. You 
mount from one to another by stone stairs or wooden 




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ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 195 

balconies flung out suddenly at abrupt angles, or the path 
tunnels under buildings and descends into queer cellar- 
like places, from which you emerge under the green 
shade of a vine carefully trained over arches, or encounter 
a wooden watercourse crossing your path from a perpen- 
dicular height above. One might make short cuts up 
the winding path through upper windows, and come 
suddenly upon little gardens and a goat or two, and a 
stable in the middle of the roofs ! A Protestant and 
a Eoman Catholic church share nearly equally between 
them the inhabitants of the little town. We passed the 
Lutheran building at the moment when a peasant's wed- 
ding was going on within. It was a small party, rather 
a shy and awkward one ; the marriage had just been com- 
pleted, and the clerk, a very busy official, arranged his 
company with great expenditure of breath and gesticula- 
tion in two rows, men in front, while we all listened to 
some very sweet singing, and then the procession moved 
out of the church and wound up the steep hill-side, the 
bride only to be distinguished by her green wreath from 
her companions, who wore white flowers in their hair. 
The men's hats were elaborately decorated with great 
bunches of flowers and huge satin rosettes ; they looked 
very stolid, and as though, if they held their hats long 
enough in their hands, they might probably eat the 
decorations from shyness or utter absence of mind — a 
state which is, I fear, somewhat chronic. 



196 ISCHL AND ITS SUItRODNDIiNGS. 

Spite of the intense heat, we managed to walk to the 
salt-works, and watched with great interest the evaporating 
process going on. The sun shone down on us with such 
power that S. declared she found it refreshingly cool, in 
comparison, to be shut into a sort of cupboard on the rim 
of the tank full of boiling brine and steam, the fumes of 
which would have suffocated her if she had tested their 
strength much longer. The salt is entirely a government 
monopoly, and they showed us great store-houses filled 
with the large blocks waiting for the barges, and much 
decorated with spread eagles, and konigliche kaiserliche 
black -lettered inscriptions. 

The heat prevented our visiting the Eudolph Thurm, a 
building perched on a projecting rock 1,000 feet above 
the lake, built by the Emperor Albert in 1299, to defend 
the royal possessions, when he and the Prince Archbishop 
were quarrelling over the salt. In these more prosaic 
days, it is devoted to a collection of fossils, antediluvian 
and otherwise, Celtic antiquities, and the manager of the 
mines. You go up a staircase, or at least may do so if 
you have sufficient energy to ascend steps for half an 
hour, and having reached the tower, a trifling addition of 
500 feet brings you to the entrance of a salt-mine. 

At Aussee the brine is conducted in wooden pipes along 
the sides of the hills and over bridges from the mine, 
which is about four miles off. It looks like an early and 
very clumsy system of telegraphic wires, which may have 



ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 197 

been ' isolated ' by wooden casings, from the effects of a 
damp climate. Some of the party drove to Aussee from 
Ischl, having altogether rather an uncomfortable expe- 
rience. 

The road as it approaches the lake becomes very pre- 
cipitous and execrably bad, and the drivers of the small 
country carriages seem to take an exquisite pleasure in 
the sufferings of their employers. Mrs. C. gave a piteous 
description of her sufferings, and D., who was a lighter 
weight, was flung so recklessly from one side to the other, 
that fears were entertained that she might arrive at their 
destination in several pieces. This was an inn, die Sonne, 
as to which our hopes had been raised by the glowing 
descriptions of our Ischl landlord, and grievous was the 
disappointment on the arrival of the party. The Kellnerin 
was a repetition of the brilliant domestic of Hindelang, and 
the travellers were shown into one big gaunt room which 
was supposed to be sufficient for their accommodation. A 
remonstrance procured for them a slightly preferable 
arrangement, in the form of two chambers, very cold and 
draughty, divided by a movable paper screen fitted into a 
groove in the floor. With this they were obliged to be 
satisfied, and to make the best of the Abendessen, which 
was anything but a success ; but strengthening themselves 
with the philosophy of contentment, which was always 
admirably sustained by the calm courage of Mrs. C, and 
never permanently shaken by any joltings of the way, or 



198 ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

contretemps of food, weather, and lodgings, they finished 
everything eatable that was to be obtained, and retired to 
rest, placid if rather stiff and aching. There is some 
good to be got out of everything, and the sufferings of the 
moment, however severe, when related to the rest of the 
party at Hallstadt, where our forces were again united, 
added zest to our enjoyment at the little Hotel Seeauer, 
though the latest arrivals, who had slept peacefully at 
Ischl, and dined well, were cruel enough to laugh over the 
history. 

There is great truth in good old Jeremy Taylor's apo- 
thegm, f He that threw a stone at a dog, and hit his cruel 
step-mother, said, that although he intended it otherwise, 
yet the stone was not quite lost ; and if we fail in the first 
design, if we bring it home to another equally to content 
us, or more to profit us, then we have put our conditions 
past the power of chance.' 

Aussee is beautifully situated at the junction of three 
streams, which flow from the lake of Aussee and Grundl, 
and by their union form the river Traun. The fishing, as 
on all these lakes and streams, is very good. 

In the spring of this year, when we again visited Ischl, 
we reversed our route in degree. Leaving the Danube 
at Linz, we journeyed by rail to Lambach, visiting the 
Traunfalls and Gmunden, and driving from thence to 
Ischl. The scenes through which we passed were described 
at the time in one of our home letters, part of which I 



ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 199 

may be allowed to quote here, as a history written on the 
spot, however slight, is generally, like an artist's sketch, 
very little improved by any touches added afterwards. 

Gmunden, May 28th. — How strangely our impressions 
of a place are affected by the circumstances under which 
we see it, and how quietly our praise or blame is meted 
out according to our own sensations, the beauty or charm 
of a particular place being sadly dependent on the fact 
that we have found a good hotel, or have dined, or that 
the weather is too hot and everything is dirty. Last year 
we thought Grmunden rather tiresome, and never wished to 
see it again, because we approached it from the water, from 
which it is not seen in its most picturesque aspect, landed 
from a hot grimy steamboat on a dirty pier, and spent our 
time between a large gloomy cavernous hotel and a high 
mound, up which we climbed for the sake of the view 
from the summit, and whose sole interest consisted in a 
dreary chapel and the orthodox number of stations 
leading up to it. This evening the little town looked 
perfectly lovely and picturesque with its houses smiling out 
from the trees ; mountains and lake lay before us trans- 
figured in all the glories of sunset light, a deep red glow 
lighting up the snow peaks as though they were touched 
with fiery fingers. We are in a pleasant new hotel, 
the Bellevue, facing the lake, and our room has a glass- 
covered balcony, from which I have been trying vainly to 
paint the colours before they faded away. We found 



200 ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

capital quarters at Linz, breakfasted at the demoralised 
hour of nine, and then all started to walk up to the 
Jagermeyer. It had rained very early, and the country 
looked pleasantly fresh. Our path lay by the side of the 
Danube, which rolled in a grand stream of deep green 
water between steep rocks richly clothed to their summits 
and lower banks covered with houses, the town spreading 
itself out along both sides of the river. We ascended by 
a steep wood walk between the stems of the firs and hazel 
and beech trees, the air was scented with wild flowers and 
new-mown hay, a pleasant breeze tempered the hot sun, 
and the shady woods looked wonderfully inviting with 
numberless tempting little paths losing themselves in their 
depths. The distant view over the broad plain of Austria 
with a blue range of Styrian Alps beyond, was infinitely 
lovely. We wandered back by the market-place and 
through many streets, admiring the old German houses and 
the shops gay with Paris goods. An hour's rest in the hotel, 
and some ices, and diligent sketching of a few of our wild 
flowers, and we set out for the station. An hour and a 
half's travel brought us to Lambach, where we had tele- 
graphed for a carriage to meet us. 

We have had a perfectly beautiful day, full of delights, 
a pleasant drive of less than two hours through a Tyrol 
wood, a level road for the most part and very badly kept, 
over which our carriage stumbled and jolted at a tolerable 
pace, till the near horse cast a shoe, after which we limped 




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ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 201 

on till three old men and a hammer came to our rescue, 
and knocked the iron somehow on to the unfortunate 
beast. A very steep road led down to the falls of the 
Traun and a small country inn, where we dined on trout 
and potatoes, with a dessert of cheese. The resources of the 
place are not great, and I fancy the usual demand for sup- 
plies is limited to coffee or an afternoon cup of milk and 
strawberries, when the Austrian ladies drive over from 
Grmunden or excursionize from the more distant Ischl with 
provident picnic baskets in the rumble of the carriage : — 
this fact by the way for those who may come after us. 

No words of mine can describe that mad whirl of waters, 
the side stream rushing over its artificial floor like a 
broad flat shoot, at the rate apparently of a hundred miles 
an hour, the great river at its side from a height of nearly 
fifty feet plunging in a cascade of white foam on to the 
rocks, splitting them asunder in its fury, working its way 
through them — till you see a stone bridge spanning the 
waves — in its persistent flow, falling in one broad sheet of 
translucent green like melted glass, or flinging a veil of 
sparkling spray over the dark trees on the shore. The 
river wanders on in a succession of side falls all wonder- 
fully beautiful. Where the artificial aqueduct ceases below, 
it is curious to see how the water, which has been pent up 
for more than 1,000 feet, unable to stop itself quickly 
enough to mingle at once with the main stream where the 
waters unite, dashes under it for a hundred yards or 



202 ISCHL AND ITS SUKROUNDINGS. 

more, while the Traun flings itself in a tempest of spray 
and foam against the sudden rush. An unpleasant moment 
that ' meeting of the waters ' must be to human weakness 
in a boat. There were no barges of any description on 
the spot, nor would there be for many hours, so reluctantly 
we gave up our hopes of experiencing the delights of an 
entirely new sensation. 

At 5.30 we climbed the hill again to the high level 
along which our road lay, and then drove for nearly two 
hours through woods and fields, and a country too beauti- 
ful almost for reality. Far below us the green river wound 
between the trees, dashing itself in a white fury here and 
there against the rocks that came in its way, and foaming 
over the rapids ; beyond were wooded hills, and still farther 
away, cutting clear and sharp against the sky, ran range 
upon range of mountains streaked and powdered with 
silver snow, and violet in the evening light. On the 
thick mass of trees close to our road the sun, now low in 
the West, shone with side rays, transforming them as by 
the touch of an enchanter ; flowers of the most brilliant 
colours grew beside them, the air was full of their sweet- 
ness, and the vespers of the little birds who were too tame 
or too innocent to take the trouble to fly away from us ; 
a partridge ran out from a copse, and a squirrel darted 
away into the shelter of the tree. The shade deepened 
under the firs and grew into purple blackness with soft red 
lights where the sun shone on the carpet of dried twigs 



ISCHL AND ITS SUEROUNDINGS. 203 

and brown mosses. The sunbeams, like the very spirits of 
mischief, wrote their names in great sprawling characters 
on the stems of the pines, with delicate tracery, figures 
and emblems and wonderful devices, legible no doubt to 
sympathetic spirits, but as far above our human and finite 
understandings as the patois of our honest-hearted and su- 
perlatively stupid Kutscher. Far above our heads, wherever 
the twisted branches of the pines were shaken naked and 
bare against the blue sky, they brought a glory of crimson 
and orange light, and clothed them in it like a veil. Slowly 
the violet shadows deepened in the farther hills, slowly the 
snow peaks glimmered and lightened and flushed with a 
tender pink as the green radiance lifted itself from the 
yellow beeches and the sombre woods, and the great wall 
of rock stood bathed in mist as if poised between earth and 
heaven, in a divine beauty that one remembers as in a 
dream. 

Wednesday ,29th. — We were roused this morning at seven 
by the sound of a solemn chant of many voices singing 
out of time and to no particular tune, and, hurrying to 
our windows, we watched a long procession of priests and 
banners, men, women, and boys following, and all joining 
with a great fervency of heart and voice in this propitiatory 
act, which is, they hope, to insure a good and plentiful 
harvest. The scene before us was indescribably lovely, 
the lake calm as a mirror, with mountains brown and 
grey and soft blue, and distant snow edges reflected on 



204 1SCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

its surface, and the Kloster and church, rising from a 
narrow strip of flat land just above the water, sending long 
white quivering pictures almost across the narrow See. 
Instead of the clearly defined peaks and jutting crags and 
glory of last evening, or the cold brightness of the night, 
there was a glow of warmth and colour, a blue light like 
heat made visible, a hum of insects in the air, and a 
sweet scent of morning and fresh spring beauty. 

This would be a charming place to spend a summer in. 
It is very popular with the Viennese, and no wonder, as it 
makes capital head-quarters for excursionists ; there is 
plenty of sport, good fishing and shooting in the neigh- 
bourhood, well-made roads, and easy carriages for invalids, 
and both here and at Ischl many a long day might be 
spent in pleasant rides through the woods, which are well 
adapted for equestrians, who can penetrate where the ways 
are too narrow for anything larger than a Bergivagen, and 
often too boggy for explorers on foot. This hotel is new 
and very good ; our bedroom is like a spacious salon, with 
four large windows draped with white ; facing the lake is a 
covered balcony like a small orangery or ' chamber on the 
wall,' into which one of them opens ; the furniture is all 
good and handsome, a new grand piano of shining satin- 
wood fills up one corner ; the landlord, who speaks English, 
is most attentive, and the cuisine excellent ; families may 
board here at a charge of seven shillings a day per 
head, supposing they occupy the best apartments, but of 



ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 205 

course the rate of payment varies with the rooms se- 
lected. . . . 

We found the drive to Ischl an infinitely more charm- 
ing ' means to an end ' than our journey by water of 
the former year, and in the intense sunshine Nature 
looked at her best and brightest, all the dust having 
been washed off by the rain and snow of the past week. 
We passed through a perpetual garden, beautiful villas 
half hidden among the trees, Italian, Swiss, German 
houses, every style and fantastic form which architecture 
assumes when it indulges itself in the pleasures of holiday 
life, and, like its employers, renounces for the nonce the 
rules and necessities of sterner existence. Above villas 
and cottages rose wooded hills promising good cover for 
game; close at our side lay the blue lake, and beyond 
it the great warm grey hills. The fields were studded 
with flowers, large purple Campanulas growing in such 
masses that at a little distance they looked like pools of 
water reflecting the sky, and it was only on nearing them 
that we discovered the reality. 

We came suddenly upon a peasant gathering, men and 
women resting under the shade of some trees, while the 
priests offered their prayers at a little wayside shrine ; the 
poor earnest devout faces were bowed in a reverent still- 
ness, over which the shadows of the leaves 

1 Dropt and lifted, dropt and lifted, 
In the sunlight greenly sifted,' 



206 ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

went and came, throwing flickering lights upon their 
heads ; the resonant chant swelled solemnly through the 
utter silence which we shrank from breaking by noise of 
hoofs and wheels. That rough altar built up in the midst 
of the hay -fields with the earnest group of worshippers, 
seemed to us a wonderfully beautiful sight which clearer- 
eyed Protestants might be none the worse for studying. 

At Ebensee we parted from the lake and our old friend 
the Traunstein, and drove for the next two hours by the 
river, watching the logs from Ischl as they met us floating 
down the stream. We stopped at a road-side inn to water 
the horses and have some bread and wine, and enjoyed 
a half-hour's rest in a cool little wooden arbour overgrown 
with creepers, where big and little dogs came to be petted 
and fed ; one very fat three-weeks-old Newfoundland 
puppy would thrust investigating paws and nose into 
everything, so we painted the latter with vermillion as a 
warning to the others, and watched it waddle off thus 
decorated to express its disgust at the world in general 
by various sneezings and contortions of its very stumpy 
little tail. The great river rushed past us, carrying away 
broken reflections of homesteads aud farmhouses and 
overshadowing fruit trees, of wooded hills and one snowy 
mountain top, the only rapidly moving force in that still 
life where everything seemed so peaceful and so very dull, 
from the old Wirth, who came to sit by us on the bench, 
and his stout helpmeet — who stood with arms akimbo, 



ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 207 

as we drank her white wine, beaming a delighted sense 
of what our enjoyment must be, 'Das ist gut, nicht wahr ? 
Ah ! ' — to the sleepy mother of the busy little puppy, who 
lay in the sunshine blinking sleepily at her son, as if to 
say, 6 It is all very well, but you will soon learn to take 
life as easily as the rest of us.' 

The hotels at Ischl are all good ; the new Hotel Bauer, 
built on the summit of a little hill, commands a fine view 
of the town, and is a large and somewhat imposing edifice. 
Herr Bauer, the present manager, was earnest in his 
endeavours to persuade our father to remain at Ischl over 
the Sunday. We had strolled up to the house and were 
admiring his new salon, 

' Ah,' cried the good man, c if you would only stay till 
Sunday, my Eeverend is coming from England, and it is 
so much to be regretted that you should be going. Can 
I not tempt you to remain and listen to my Reverend !' 

There was a strange procession which we encountered 
one day returning from the church, a funeral of a woman ; 
the coffin, carried on men's shoulders, was covered with a 
shabby pall, and decorated with tin crowns wreathed with 
paper flowers, and with paste-board figures of saints 
like children's toys tottering on the top. Behind there 
followed a promiscuous assemblage, all the men, women, 
and boys who had been at the afternoon service, hundreds 
of people walking two and two, chanting with more or 
less of fervour. Never had we seen such a collection 

o 



208 ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

of faces and figures, deformed goitred old women, young- 
ones unutterably ugly, idiotic-looking men ; the women 
in their stiff black dresses and kerchiefs bound across the 
forehead, and sanctimonious faces, reminded one of queer 
old wood-cuts of puritan saints, giving thanks meekly that 
chastisement had fallen upon an erring brother. This 
walk in the heat after the shaking coffin was a work of 
supererogation, a fact which spread a mild and virtuous 
satisfaction over the bland faces. 

Judging from the people one sees, Ischl, beautiful as it 
is, must be anything but healthy as a dwelling place ; 
the inhabitants who throng the streets are an utterly 
different race from the strong sturdy peasants of Bavaria 
or Tyrol. At the Fete Dieu we saw a very different 
assemblage; this great church festival filled the town 
with people from the whole country side, dwellers on 
the hills, or in the plains. For days beforehand, young 
men and maidens had been busy planting forests of 
beech boughs, or forming arcades of green branches 
before the principal houses, framing sacred pictures in a 
bower of leaves, and hanging gay draperies from the 
windows ; wreaths of flowers and tasteful bouquets deco- 
rated the walls and covered the temporary altars erected 
in the streets. As we walked down towards the Kurhaus 
we met hundreds of peasants in gala attire, streaming in 
from the neighbouring villages, bright-faced sturdy girls in 
groups of twos and threes, tramping along the road with 




Ik' 



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Tele Dieu .' 




ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 209 

bare feet thrust into roughly-made clogs, while the clean 
black shoes and white stockings were carefully carried 
in the hand to heighten the effect of the toilette at 
the last moment. The little children were beaming over 
with happiness, and even the small babies were in white 
muslin and green and flowery wreaths, with their hair 
beautifully dressed ; at Grmunden, which we had visited 
the day before, the whole of the younger portion of the 
female population were in anticipatory curl-papers ! The 
boys were resplendent in green stockings and plumed 
hats, the men lounged about in picturesque groups, 
grey coated and with stockings and hats of Tyrol green, 
the latter decorated with Ldmmergeier feathers or plumes 
from the Auerhann. There were two bands belonging to the 
konigl. haiserl. Salzsoleniverk, manufactory or distillery, 
or royal monopoly of something salinen or otherwise, the 
men all well turned out, and others appeared from the 
same works carrying rifles, a sort of guard of honour to the 
Heilige Jungfrau or any saint of distinction. Very curious 
it was to see these men dressed in a strange livery, the 
black blouse of the miner, and a plume of green feathers 
in their dark soldier-like caps. Some of the men from 
the Bavarian salt works, whom we saw a few days later 
at Berchtesgaden, carried hatchets that "glistened in the 
sun as they stood on guard round a little temporary altar, 
while the officiating priest elevated the Host and performed 
mass for the people. It was a pleasant sight, spite of the 



210 ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

superstition and the little follies that grouped themselves 
round the religious rites, from the devout feelings of the 
worshippers, and the keen delight of each unit in that 
great mass in the general festiveness of the day; there 
were old grandames so proud and happy over the little 
ones and their pretty dresses, the children so innocently 
glad, the men with quiet reverent faces, holding lighted 
candles wreathed with flowers which did nothing but 
gutter or go out, and chanting vigorously to an accompa- 
niment of drums and trumpets, and a great clanging 
bell that of course always came in out of time, and in 
the midst of the banners and candles, singing priests, 
and devout worshippers, with the sunshine covering 
it with a halo like a glory, was the great picture of the 
festival, the Christ showing his wounds to the Father, 
the Christus Salvador of the Frohnleichnam } s Tag. 

There were endless decorations and ornamentations, 
the churches had turned out all their treasures of relics 
and upholstery to enrich the procession, a sermon or 
Evangelium, which unfortunately we could not stay to 
hear, was to be preached in the open air, the people 
disposing themselves to listen, and camping out on 
steps and balconies. One little group was especially 
to be remembered ; on a flight of steps, a green bower 
of fresh beech boughs, sat a sweet-faced young mother, 
her sober colouring forming a perfect foil for two little 
bits of living sunshine, beaming golden hair and starry 








Im Schafren . 



ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 211 

eyes, rosiest cheeks and lips and dimples, two cherub 
children, flower- crowned and dressed in white : one of the 
dear fat beauties was lifted towards us in the arms of 
a proud old grandmother, and -gave us a soft little round 
hand through the beech leaves with a burst of happy 
laughter. 

But our carriages were ready and it was time to depart, 
and reluctantly turning away from this pleasant spot 
and all that day's gladness, we drove up the steep hill 
and left the happy valley far behind. A very pleasant 
drive was ours to Salzburg : we had by no means said 
good-bye to the festival, every little village was gay 
with flags and greenery, every wayside chapel bright with 
wreaths, and the roads swarmed with peasants, men and 
girls, like great nosegays as we saw them through the 
trees, so brilliant were the colours of their dresses ; one 
of the peculiarities of the Tyrol costumes is the absence 
of patterns or fusings of tints, they shine out bright 
and distinct like the field flowers. 

Our party was a very merry one ; we amused our- 
selves by jumping out of the carriages, unknown to our 
worthy drivers who plodded up the hills beside their 
horses unwitting of lighter or heavier loads, hunting for 
treasures in the hedges, collecting ferns, stopping to 
drink at wayside springs, and exchanging greetings with 
the peasants, and when once installed again in our places, 
filling the seats with small maidens whose sturdy little 



•212 ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

legs seemed very weary even with the delights of that 
day's gladness, and setting them down at the cottage 
doors as we passed, where busy Hausmutters were pre- 
paring the simple supper. 

At St. Grilgen the lake instead of ' sleeping in the 
sunshine ' was all astir, the wind rippling it into real 
waves almost white-tipped in their energy. We bought 
stores of white Lcimmergeier feathers at a quaint little 
shop, and then after an hour or more of progress halted 
at a way-side inn to rest and water the horses ; the men 
joined a little group under the trees, where a good cur6 
and some peasants were drinking coffee; our father sat 
in the carriage with our last ' Saturday,' and we lay on 
a bank in very happy ' idlesse ' watching the water trickle 
from a spout and three ducks come and drink it. There 
was a stream near, but the ducks returned with much 
expenditure of strength and breath from time to time, 
drank with infinite satisfaction, waddling back comforted 
to the ditch below. Were they Ischl birds, w r e wondered, 
who had learnt the practice from much watching in their 
youth of autumn visitors to the baths and Quellen, studying 
the amount of exercise prescribed between each swallow ? 
To us it seemed a very common pump, old and somewhat 
leaky even, but the ducks thought otherwise. There was 
a big grey fellow with one black feather in its tail, and 
its head held a little on one side, who was evidently 
a deep thinker ; the pump was doubtless good for some 




\m }{it Pump I 




M lie nahvas see me. i ash of us ! 



ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 213 

symptoms, weak nerves or dyspepsia, and the bird knew 
it ! Bladud was a real live prince, according to histo- 
rical legends, though like a poor prodigal he was turned 
out amongst the swine, but it was a learned pig that 
taught him the virtues of the Bath waters, and here 
before our eyes was doubtless a fresh proof of the marvel- 
lous instinct of beasts and birds : what an interesting study 
for the psychologist ! In an affable voice we addressed 
the duck on the instant in all the appropriate euphemisms 
of the German language : — 

6 Grnadiger duck, hast thou, like the much-belauded 
doctors of Austrian and Bavarian Spas, discovered a 
specific for human ills ? Art thou, too, a general 
benefactor, if only to thy companion ducks? Art thou 



6 Quack ! ' said the duck, so suddenly and solemnly, 
that startled by the unexpected response we gazed 
helplessly at the pump and then at each other, and all 
laughed till the ducks being offended retired into the 
ditch. 

Among the learned physicians whose fame draws the 
travelling public, when more or less invalided, to drink 
and bathe and study peripatetic philosophy, combining 
Aristotle and a water diet in due proportion, there are 
many more especially sought after by the English. Our 
visits to these medicinal springs have almost always been 
out of the season ; we have found the establishments alto- 



2U ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

gether closed, or have been ushered through large halls of 
a general and unpleasant dampness, declined the draught of 
water kindly offered to us by a mouldy-looking attendant, 
and satisfied our curiosity by a study of the frescoes and 
other decorations of the walls, and the inevitable bronze 
or marble bust amongst the shrubs outside, with its lau- 
datory inscription to the special providence in the form of 
a medico who first made the spot famous. 

Many of our friends have been more fortunate ; they 
have drunk at the well, bathed in the hot and cold waters, 
and been visited with solicitous care by the attendant 
minister. One case I remember in which there was a 
slight uncertainty as to treatment, owing to the want of a 
perfect understanding of the form of words employed. 
The patient was described by a brother, whose English 
was of that pure Saxon obtaining at Eton and Eugby, as 
* not much amiss.' 

6 A little down in the mouth, you know.' 

' Ah ! ' said the doctor, ' that symptom is strange to 
me,' and out came the note-book. ' A leetle down in the 
mouth, did you say ? Ah ! Um ! ' and the troubled 
physician paused, meditating over this new and difficult 
diagnosis. 

Travellers, as a rule, are not wonderful as linguists, and 
we have all in our time made great blunders ourselves, 
and listened to ludicrous mistakes from others. 

F., when sitting one day in a vestauration, heard an 



ISCHL AND ITS SUKKOUNDINGS. 215 

English traveller ordering his dinner in spasmodic but 
apparently fluent German ; and leaning forward, when the 
Kellner had disappeared, said in a deprecating voice, as 
dreading to interfere between any man and the menu he 
had selected : 

'I am afraid, sir, you hardly know what you have 
ordered. Can I be of any help as an interpreter ? ' 

' Oh ! thank you ; but what's the matter ? I want some 
fish and potatoes. Isn't it all right ? ' cried the poor victim. 

6 Possibly,' answered F., ' only I thought I heard you 
asking for peches and pantoufles, and I am afraid you 
may find " sins " and " slippers " a little indigestible.' 

We English have curiously little talent as linguists, 
though we may have a superficial knowledge of two or 
three languages, and may succeed in making ourselves 
understood more or less as we travel, whereas a Russian 
or -an Austrian speaks five or six with the most perfect 
mastery of their difficulties, and delicate appreciation of 
their idiomatic correctness and beauty. We complimented 
a young Viennese girl on her beautiful English ; she 
answered quite simply : — 

6 1 am glad you think I speak it well ; we all like Eng- 
lish, and it is taught everywhere in our nurseries. The 
Austrians are fond of the study of languages, and learn 
easily; my little brother, who is only four years old, 
speaks three languages, one of which is Hongarisch, as 
his nurse is an Hungarian.' 



£16 ISCHL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

We were astonished to find such familiar knowledge of 
some of our latest authors amongst the people we met 
during our journey. One of our acquaintances, an Hun- 
garian lawyer, eagerly discussed with us the works of 
J. S. Mill, Buckle, &c, and it is strange to see how 
much better known such books are in Germany than 
similar ones would be with us ; modern Grerman thought 
failing to penetrate in England beyond a purely intellec- 
tual or critical circle. 

But we must return to our halting-place on the road to 
Salzburg, where by this time the horses were rested ; one 
of the drivers came up to us with a huge bumper of some 
dark liquid in his hand, of which he pressed us to partake. 
We just touched the glass with our lips, not to hurt his 
feelings, and pronounced it to be decidedly ' siis.' It was 
very abominable, quite sweet and dark, meant to be 
coffee, I believe, but was a sort of black eau sucre, made of 
coarse burnt sugar. The cure and the old Wirthin said 
6 Guten Abend,' the peasants nodded over their beer in 
friendly recognition, and a young girl we had brought 
with us from St. Grilgen came to wish us good-bye, and 
kiss our hands; the grey duck looked at us dispara- 
gingly, as anti-hydropathists, and we drove away gaily from 
the little Gasthaus to our good quarters in the Nelbok 
at Salzburg as the shadows were beginning to lengthen, 
and a pleasant and cool air came to temper the heat of 
that bright summer's day. 



EXCURSIONS AMONG THE OETLER AND 
LOMBARD ALPS. 



Blue, and baseless, and beautiful, 

Did the boundless mountains bear 

Their folded shadows into the golden air.' 

Rttskin. 

' Der Ortler, aus Granit geworben, 
Zur Granzenhut emporgehoben, 

Eagt glorreich alien Nachbam vor. 
Und tragt aus frommen Hirtentbale 
Des Dankes voile Opferschale 
Zu deinem Thron, o Gott! empor.' 

Beda "Weber. 



EXCURSIONS AMONG THE ORTELER AND 
LOMBARD ALPS. 



IT is by no means one of the least of the benefits con- 
ferred on the geographer and the mountaineer by the 
publication of Mr. Ball's admirable ' Guide to the Central 
Alps,' that in directing attention to the topography and 
high attractions of the Orteler and Lombard Alps, it has 
thrown much new light on a district which has hitherto 
received a very inadequate share of notice. The construc- 
tion of the great Stelvio road, indeed, familiarised the 
public with a portion of the country in question, whilst 
the valuable work of Schaubach (' Die Deutschen Alpen, 
B. iv. Handbuch fur mittlere und siidliche Tyrol ' : Jena, 
1850) afforded much useful information; but curiosity 
seems to have been limited to the immediate scenery of 
the pass, and though the summit of the Orteler Spitze 
itself has during the last sixty years been several times 
attained, few have cared to push their explorations farther, 
or to investigate the numerous other peaks which, whilst 
rivalling it in height, perhaps surpass in beauty the 
monarch of the group. 

Stimulated alike by the charms of novelty and by the 



220 EXCURSIONS AMONG THE 

glimpses which a passage of the Stelvio the year before had 
given me of some of the grandest features of the district, 
I resolved at the earliest opportunity to devote a few days 
at least to the more thorough exploration of its recesses ; 
and finding that my inclination was shared by my friends 
E. N. and H. E. B. ? whom I had arranged to meet at 
Pontresina about the end of July, a combined scheme of 
operations was agreed upon, the results of which I now 
propose to lay before the reader. 

In pursuance of our compact, the various members of 
our band collected on the 25th of July 1864 at Samaden, 
whence on the following morning we sallied forth a merry 
company of ten (five of whom were ladies), to establish 
ourselves for a week at that pleasantest of headquarters, the 
Krone at Pontresina. Here, amongst other Alpine friends, 
we found Messrs. Tyndall and Hinchliff, and learnt from 
the former that Mr. Ball was actually at Santa Catarina in 
the Val Furva, whither he was himself bound, and that 
they had designs of a similar character to ours. The 
chance of obtaining such an accession to our forces at 
once decided us to cut short our stay in the Engadine ; 
and accordingly, after devoting a couple of days to some 
new excursions in the Bernina, which previous expeditions 
had suggested, we reassembled at the comfortable esta- 
blishment of Le Prese, and thence journeyed on the 29th 
to Tirano and Bormio. Arrived at the latter place, and 
hearing discouraging accounts of the chances of accom- 



ORTELER AND LOMBARD ALPS. 221 

modation at Santa Catarina, it was thought most prudent 
for some one to proceed thither at once, and ascertain the 
actual state of affairs. Accordingly, after despatching a 
hasty dinner, H. and I started at 9.25, in a char, for 
the Val Furva, whose torrent, the Frodolfo, joins the 
Adda at Bormio. The night was dark, and as we gen- 
erally proceeded at a foot-pace, it was past midnight 
when we drove up before a large plain-looking stone build- 
ing, from whose goodly array of windows, however, many 
a bright gleam of light shone forth upon the silent valley, 
and sparkled in the swift waters of the Frodolfo. It was 
a comfort to find a waiter still astir, and to learn that, 
though the entire building was packed to the roof with a 
dense mass of humanity, something in the shape of beds 
might and should be improvised for us in the billiard- 
room. The result was very superior to anything we had a 
right to calculate upon under the circumstances, whilst we 
had afterwards the satisfaction of being undeservedly pitied 
by the other members of our party, amongst whom a 
legend long gained credit that the billiard-table itself had 
constituted our couch. 

The next morning was everything that could be desired 
for a preliminary investigation, and having sent a message 
to our friends at Bormio and discovered Mr. Ball, a 
consultation was held as to the first point of attack. 
He so strongly recommended us to begin with the ascent 
of the Monte Confinale, and the position of that mountain 



222 EXCURSIONS AMONG THE 

was so obviously calculated to give us a general insight 
into the topography of the Orteler chain, that we resolved 
to assault it at once without awaiting the arrival of the 
main body. Some provisions were therefore hastily col- 
lected, and at nine o'clock we set out amidst suppressed 
excitement on the part of the inmates of the establish- 
ment. 

I must here premise that the Confmale is the loftiest 
point of a spur from the main ridge which, quitting the 
latter at the S. foot of the Konigsspitze, and runnino- 
for a short distance nearly due S., bends round more and 
more till it gradually assumes a westerly direction, thus 
dividing the Val Forno and the middle portion of the 
Val Furva from the Val del Zebru, of which latter it 
constitutes the E. and S. boundary. Though the actual 
summit is invisible from Santa Catarina itself it dominates 
the whole neighbourhood, and being equalled in height 
only by the peaks of the main chain, which sweep round 
it in a semicircle from the Cristallo to the Corno dei tre 
Signori, it will be seen at once that no better point could 
be selected for a general survey. 

We crossed the Frodolfo by a bridge close to the 
Stabilimento delle Acque, passed through the little vil- 
lage, and struck up the mountain -side by a path on the 
left bank of a torrent which comes leaping down in a 
series of cascades, and is derived from the snows of the 






ORTELER AND LOMBARD ALPS. 223 

Confinale. Traversing a little pinewood we soon came 
out upon beautiful grassy slopes, commanding views of 
constantly increasing beauty and extent of the head of the 
Val Furva and its S. arm leading up to the Gravia Pass, 
guarded by the noble peaks of the Tresero and Corno 
dei tre Signori. Comforted by sundry draughts of milk, 
which the burning heat rendered most acceptable, we 
held on our way towards a line of cliffs which form the 
E. boundary of a small elevated valley running right 
up into the heart of the mountain. Here our course 
became more level, but our progress was slow, as we had 
to traverse a succession of slopes of debris descending to 
the level of the stream, whose right or W. bank would 
have afforded better walking. Gradually the cliffs circled 
round in front of us, but were broken by gullies, through 
one of which we scrambled up, amidst a perfect chaos of 
fragments of huge size and fantastic arrangement, to the 
level of the snowfields above. The actual summit was 
now seen for the first time, separated from us by the neve 
of a small glacier which descended to the left of our 
station in a southwesterly direction. Half an hour's steady 
but by no means rapid ascent across the snowfield, and 
then parallel with the SE. ridge of the mountain, brought 
us to the foot of the final rocks. These were free from 
difficulty, and in five minutes more we stood upon the 
summit at 1.45, just four hours and three quarters after 



224 EXCURSIONS AMONG THE 

quitting Santa Catarina. Our progress had been leisurely, 
and our various halts having amounted altogether to one 
hour and a quarter, it will be seen that the ascent may- 
be easily accomplished in three-and-a-half hours' walking. 
The height of the peak is 11,076 English feet, according 
to Von Welden, and that of Santa Catarina being about 
5,000, the difference of elevation is upwards of 1,000 feet 
greater than that between Pontresina and Piz Languard, 
with which it may be most conveniently compared. It 
seems difficult to suppose that so excellent a station 
should not have been made use of by the officers charged 
with the survey of the great military map of the Lom- 
bardo-Venetian Provinces ; but we could discover no trace 
of any erection, and flattered ourselves with the idea of 
being the first to discover the great attractions, easy 
access, and admirable view which characterise the 
mountain. 

Whilst my companion set vigorously to work at the 
construction of a cairn, in which to deposit a record of 
our visit, I occupied myself for the next hour or two in 
transferring to my notebook an outline of the glorious 
succession of peaks, snowfields, and glaciers which 
stretched in an unbroken line around us through a 
horizon of something like 200°, and included nearly all 
the highest summits of the Orteler and Lombard Alps. 

After a stay of rather more than three hours we started 
at 4.45, quitted the snow at 5.5, and at 7.15, after a 



ORTELER AND LOMBARD ALPS. 225 

quarter of an hour's halt, reached Santa Catarina — thus 
effecting the descent in two-and-a-quarter hours' walking. 
Here we heard that our companions had come up from 
Bormio in the morning ; but finding the available accom- 
modation less satisfactory than could be desired, some of 
them had returned to secure beds at the Bagni di Bormio, 
whilst the remainder had kindly waited for us. Our 
second detachment started in a carriage at 8.30, and, after 
a pleasant drive in the cool of the evening down the 
romantic Val Furva, rejoined the first at 10.45. Unfor- 
tunately, in the dark, both my barometers somehow con- 
trived to fall from the carriage and get broken, so that 
during the remainder of our journey we were limited to 
an aneroid by Browning, belonging to E., which proved, 
however, to be a first-rate instrument. 

The following day (July 31st) being Sunday, we spent 
the morning quietly between our capital quarters and the 
shade of a somewhat meagre pine-wood, and a little before 
five took our departure for the third cantoniera on the 
Stelvio road, which we proposed to make our starting- 
point for further explorations on the morrow. It was 
arranged that all the ladies, under the charge of Michel 
Payot and the two remaining gentlemen of our party, 
should proceed to Santa Catarina on Monday, and esta- 
blish themselves there as comfortably as circumstances, 
modified by the kind exertions of Mr. Ball, would per- 
mit ; whilst E. and H. and myself, accompanied by our 



226 EXCURSIONS AMONG THE 

respective guides — Franz Biener of Zermatt, and the gal- 
lant old Christian Michel of Grindelwald — devoted one or, 
perhaps, two days to clear up the mystery of the Cristallo, 
and investigate the Vitelli Glacier and Val del Zebru. 

Two-and-a-half hours' easy walking brought us to the 
third refuge or cantoniera, situated between the steep 
ascent known as the Spondalunga and the higher station 
of Santa Maria. The landlord is a decent fellow, disposed 
to do his best, but the accommodation is of the most 
limited character, and appeared only to have reference to 
the wants of passing travellers. One bed was all that 
could be provided, but a mattrass on the floor answered 
equally well, and after a good supper on our own pro- 
visions, we laid ourselves down to rest. 

It was just 3.15 on the morning of the 1st August when 
we issued forth upon the noble Stelvio road, and pro- 
ceeded down it at a rapid pace till just before reaching 
the cantonnier's house standing at the commencement of 
the zigzags by which the descent of the Spondalunga is 
effected. Here we turned off sharp to the left, and tra- 
versing slopes of debris by a path which in the faint light 
was barely distinguishable, found ourselves at 4.15 at the 
right or north bank of the Vitelli GHacier, not far from its 
extremity. The main body of the ice appeared to descend 
right in front from between a somewhat uniform ridge on 
our left and a fine snowy mass on the right, which we 
rightly conjectured to be the western termination of the 



ORTELEK AND LOMBAED ALPS. 227 

spur described by Mr. Ball (' Guide to the Central Alps,' 
p. 415 b), as ' including two principal summits, of which the 
eastern peak in form somewhat resembles the Lyskamm.' 
Further to the right a succession of inferior elevations 
sweep round till they terminate in the rocks which over- 
hang the second cantoniera, and give rise in their intervals 
to two or three glaciers of secondary importance, the most 
easterly of which constitutes the western affluent of the 
Vitelli. With these we had nothing to do, our course 
clearly lying up the main arm beneath, and to the north 
of, the conspicuous snowy mass already referred to, which 
formed the centre of the picture. E. had indulged in the 
unusual luxury of a stereoscopic camera, which after doing 
good service in the Bernina was now again made useful, 
and after a short halt we stepped upon the ice at 4.40. 
The glacier, which is beautifully pure, presented no diffi- 
culty, and keeping straight up the centre we reached the 
foot of the ice-fall immediately to the north of the western 
extremity of the Vitelli ridge at 5.30. Here the rope was 
put in requisition, and at 5.40 we commenced the ascent. 
Keeping close under the south boundary of the glacier, 
our progress was facilitated by the slopes of snow which 
obliterated the crevasses on this side of the ice-fall, and 
though the huge masses of overhanging seracs, towering 
high into the air on our right, were suggestive of ava- 
lanches, the debris of which we frequently traversed, this 
course would probably be at all times the best. 

P 2 



228 EXCURSIONS AMONG TIIE 

At 6.30 the level of the upper plateau was gained, and 
a glorious expanse of snow was descried sloping gently 
upwards towards a broad col, and bounded by two great 
ramparts of considerable uniformity of outline, but whose 
exquisite purity as they glittered in the bright clear 
morning light rendered them strikingly beautiful objects. 
Scarce a rock was to be seen, and it was at first very diffi- 
cult to determine the relative altitude of the principal 
prominences, or the scale of the scenery as a whole. As 
we progressed, however, it became more and more evident 
that of the two ridges, both of which attained their greatest 
elevation towards their eastern extremities, that on our 
left, which we afterwards ascertained to be the Video 
Spitze (11,361 feet), or second highest point of the 
Cristallo, was the loftier, whilst the conviction was mo- 
mentarily strengthened that neither could rival for a 
moment either the Orteler Spitze, or many other peaks of 
the group. The ridges in question are indeed but little 
more than great snowy hummocks, of exquisite beauty 
it is true, but scarcely attaining to the dignity of moun- 
tains. 

Twenty minutes' steady walking at a rapid pace up the 
level floor of this noble corridor brought us at 6.50 to the 
depression at its head already mentioned, and all doubt as 
to our further course was at once set at rest by the dis- 
covery that we were looking down from a height of some 
10,700 feet into the centre and lower portion of the Val 



OKTELER AND LOMBAKD ALPS. 229 

del Zebru, from which, however, we were cut off by 
apparently impracticable precipices of enormous depth. 
Feeling anxious to investigate the other side of the Cris- 
tallo ridge, and not knowing how large might be the de- 
mands on our time and strength before night, we did not 
attempt to test the chance of effecting a descent by force 
majeure ; but retracing our steps for a few hundred yards 
and then gradually bearing away to the north, we made 
for the ridge at a point between the Video (11,361 feet) 
and Nagler Spitze (10,687 feet). Turning round the 
north-west shoulder of the former peak, we found our- 
selves at 7.15 standing on the west side of the upper neve 
of the Madatsch Grlacier, and separated by it from the 
series of summits terminating on the north in the 
Madatsch Spitze proper, over which towered the grand 
mass of the Orteler Spitze itself. Farther to the right a 
depression was visible, and beyond it a dome-like summit. 
Next to this came a sharpish cone through whose snowy 
mantle a few rocks cropped out here and there. Again 
the eye was puzzled to say whether this summit or its 
neighbour, the nearer Video Spitze, was the loftier ; 
but on the whole the betting was in its favour, and the 
event justified our estimate, as it proved to be the highest 
of the series of eminences to which the name of Crist alio 
has been collectively applied. 

A glance sufficed to show that our course would lie over 



230 EXCURSIONS AMONG THE 

the depression between the cone and the most westerly of 
the upper peaks of the Madatsch ridge, as from it the 
ascent of the former (which on the side of the Vitelli 
Glacier was impracticable) appeared easy of accomplish- 
ment, and it seemed besides to offer the greatest chance 
of effecting our intended subsequent descent into the Val 
del Zebru. Again the camera was called into requisition, 
and operations were on the point of commencing, when 
the box containing the plates was suddenly seen to glide 
from its moorings, and set off on a voyage of discovery 
towards the neve beneath. Franz started in pursuit, for- 
getful that he constituted a link in a chain, and came to 
grief and the length of his tether at the same instant. 
Whilst he was detaching himself the rash adventurer slid 
merrily onwards, and laughter was mingled with vexation 
as we saw Franz wildly plunging downwards and, though 
gaining ground at every step, arriving at the upper edge 
of a crevasse just in time to see the object of his pursuit 
topple merrily over into the dark depths which he dared 
not approach more closely. We all rushed to the rescue, 
and after a short hunt Christian appeared holding the 
truant aloft in triumph. Another attempt to photograph 
was more successful, and after sketching and indulging in 
a second breakfast we quitted our station at 8.45, and at 
nine reached the level surface of the Madatsch neve, over 
some steep slopes intersected by numerous crevasses. 




ing lo § 



ORTELER AND LOMBARD ALPS. 231 

Fifteen minutes' steady walking brought us to the foot 
of the steep wall leading up to the col. Here step- 
cutting became necessary, the slope being very rapid : our 
progress was slow, and it was 9.40 before we stood on the 
summit. The view on the other side was at once mag- 
nificent and satisfactory — magnificent because it included 
the massive Orteler and glorious Konigsspitze with the 
Klein Zebru and other intervening peaks, and satisfactory 
because the hope of being able to descend to the level of 
the Val del Zebru was on the whole strengthened. For the 
third time the camera was set up, and two slides, forming 
a panorama of the chain from the Orteler Spitze to the 
Konigsspitze, were rapidly secured by E., whilst I worked 
away more slowly at my outline. 

Depositing our various traps on the col, we struck off 
at 10.30 to our right, climbed a steepish ridge broken in 
its lower part by rocks, and then keeping a little to the 
left found ourselves at eleven on the conical summit 
already alluded to. The Video Spitze appeared to the eye 
to be but little less elevated than that on which we stood ; 
but the superiority of our position would have been in- 
disputable even without the authority of the Kataster 
Survey, which assigns to the two points the respective 
heights of 11,370 and 11,361 feet. On the south we 
looked down into the Val del Zebru, from which we were 
cut off by enormous precipices, but could see nothing of 
the Vitelli ridge, even the highest point of it being 



232 EXCURSIONS AMONG THE 

entirely concealed by the intervening Video Spitze, which 
must therefore be the more elevated of the two. We spent 
a most enjoyable hour on the summit, though our view was 
cut short in the direction of the Konigsspitze by clouds 
sweeping up from the south. 

Starting again at twelve, we regained the col, which we 
propose to call the Madatsch Joch, at 12.30. Its height, 
as determined by an observation of E.'s aneroid compared 
with Aosta and Turin, comes out 10,838 feet; but as the 
reading of the same instrument on the summit of the 
peak gives a height for the latter of 11,576 feet, or 206 in 
excess of the Kataster determination, these figures must 
be looked upon as probably too high by at least 100 feet, 
if not more. 

Collecting our baggage we quitted the col at 12.35, 
and proceeded down the gently-inclined slopes of a glacier 
which, as it descends from the Cristallo and the ridge con- 
necting its different peaks with the Schnee Grlocke and 
Trafoier Spitze, I have ventured . to name the Cristallo 
Glacier. Its termination towards the Val del Zebru is for 
the most part pretty uniform, but at the corner farthest 
from the Cristallo it thrusts forward a long narrow tongue 
of ice, forked at the end, which is well seen from the 
Confmale. Whether the valley may be reached at this point 
we did not attempt to ascertain, for our ultimate object 
being to cross into the Val Forno by the ridge separating 
it from that of Zebru, it was obviously desirable to strike 



ORTELER AND LOMBARD ALPS. 233 

the latter as near its head as possible. We therefore 
kept well to the left, beneath the terminal cliffs of the 
Schnee Grlocke and Trafoier Spitze, and at 1.15 halted on 
the summit of a ridge, part snow and part rock, dividing 
the Cristallo Grlacier from another further to the east 
descending from the Thurwieser Spitze. This last is in its 
turn separated by a similar barrier from a larger mass of 
the Zebru Grlacier which has its source in the eastern slope 
of the Thurwieser Spitze, the southern side of the Klein 
Zebru, and the south-western shoulder of the Konigsspitze. 
An attack was now made on the provisions, and at 2.10 
we again got under way. 

The reconnaissance from the Confinale had satisfied us 
that it would be better to quit the ice by the lower edge of 
this small intermediate glacier, on whose W. boundary we 
were now standing, so we worked down diagonally to our 
right, and at 2.30 got on to the slopes of debris below 
without the slightest difficulty. Here began the most 
troublesome and fatiguing work of the day. We had to 
traverse a seemingly interminable waste of unstable stones, 
inclined at a high angle and treacherous in the extreme. 
Our progress was thus slow, but at three o'clock we reached 
the singular and highly-attenuated tongue of the Zebru 
Glacier (like that of some gigantic ant-eater), traversed it 
without difficulty in five minutes, and at 3.15 gained some 
turf slopes. Eound these we now wound at a tolerably 



234 EXCURSIONS AMONG THE 

uniform level, from time to time coming upon extensive 
patches of the detested clapier, till 4. 1 5, when, wearied of 
this scrambling mode of progression, which had now lasted 
nearly two hours, we reached to our delight the mass of 
ice occupying the head of the valley and formed by the 
union of a glacier descending on the NE. from the Konigs- 
spitze with two others from the Confinale spur on the E. 
and S. The first was crossed in a few minutes, and then 
scrambling up the slopes on the left bank of the second 
or most easterly, and taking to the ice at 4.45, we gained 
the depression at its head at 5.30. We here stood upon 
the ridge separating the Val del Zebru from the head of 
the Val Forno or Val di Cedeh, and connecting the prin- 
cipal peaks of the Confinale spur with the main chain at 
the S. foot of the Konigsspitze. For some distance to 
the N. the barrier maintains a pretty uniform elevation, 
and its passage might doubtless be effected at almost any 
point over a distance of half a mile or more. We kept 
as much to the right as the SW. boundary of the glacier 
permitted, in order to reach Santa Catarina with the least 
possible delay, for the day was already well advanced and 
we had no time to lose. On the Austrian maps a pass is 
indicated near the point selected by us for crossing, but as 
no name is given we proposed to adopt that of Zebru 
Pass. The height calculated from an aneroid reading by 
comparison with Aosta and Turin comes out 9,908 feet, 
but judging by the error in the case of the Monte Cris- 



ORTELER AND LOMBARD ALPS. 235 

tallo observation, it would probably be safer to adopt 
9,700 as the more probable figure. 

The beauty of the view over the upper portion of the 
valleys on either hand as well as of the glorious peaks 
which form their respective boundaries, induced us to 
linger till 5.40, when we proceeded down the short and 
easy glacier on the E. slope and quitted it at 6.15. At 
6.30, finding an excellent stream and remarkably sharp 
appetites, we disposed of the remainder of our provisions ; 
but time was precious, and at 6.45 we once more set forth. 
We now kept more to the S. and pushed down the Val 
Forno at a rapid pace over lovely slopes of pasture and 
along the grass-grown summit of a beautifully-developed 
ancient lateral moraine, till we dropped at length into a 
well-defined path, This led us at 7.30 to a little village 
perched high on the mountain-side, whence a very steep 
track zigzagging downwards on the left over broken ground 
and amidst rocks and trees brought us at 7.45 to the main 
path, which is still, however, carried along the W. side of 
the valley at a considerable height above the stream. 

By this time it was getting dark, and of the remainder of 
our tramp we saw but little more than enough to convince 
us that the lower part of the Val Forno possessed charms 
of the highest order. Stumping along over an unfamiliar 
road in that peculiar half-light which is almost more con- 
fusing than perfect obscurity is a process that soon be- 
comes wearisome and monotonous, especially if one has 



236 EXCURSIONS AMONG THE 

been already seventeen hours on foot ; and it was there- 
fore with feelings of lively satisfaction that, after traversing 
some meadows and turning a corner, we descried the lights 
of the Stabilimento delle Acque at Santa Catarina, and 
finally reached its hospitable door at 8.40, after a most 
interesting, but somewhat fatiguing day. 

Having as yet seen but little of the immediate neigh- 
bourhood of Santa Catarina, it was resolved to devote the 
following morning to the congenial occupation of lounging 
about, picnicking in the woods, &c. As the sunny hours 
sped rapidly by, the charms of scenery gaining new zest 
from those of the social circle which our goodly company 
of ten might fairly claim to constitute, one felt that it is 
good sometimes to be idle and go with the stream ; but 
the lingering flavour of recent adventures, the conscious- 
ness that much yet remained to be accomplished in the 
very limited time still at our disposal, and above all the 
sight of the glorious mountains themselves encircling our 
little Capua, recalled us to a sense of duty, and reminded 
us that we must not allow ourselves to be more than 
temporarily demoralised in a climbing sense. In the even- 
ing we saw the ladies under the good escort of the same 
faithful squires drive off down the valley for the Baths of 
Bormio, with the intention of passing the Stelvio on the 
morrow, whilst we remained behind to explore more 
thoroughly the head of the Val Forno, and, if possible, 
cross over to meet them at Trafoi via the Suldenthal. 






r~ --jM^-r^ 



H 5£ 




A 







Build 



Trig" O- CflUTrL 







Iiil 




OETELER AND LOMBARD ALPS. 237 

Anticipating a long day's work, we retired to rest soon 
after eight o'clock, and rising again at 11.30, breakfasted 
sharp at midnight — an arrangement which, whilst con- 
venient for us, prevented the establishment from being 
unnecessarily disturbed, as the guests did not, and the 
waiters could not, get to bed till a late hour. 

At 12.45 A.m. on the 3rd we quitted the house, led by 
a man with a lantern, who was to accompany us up the 
lower portion of the Val Forno, and return as soon as 
there was sufficient light to distinguish the track. We 
retraced our previous course, and passing the point where 
the small path already referred to led steeply up to the 
pastures on our left, we found ourselves opposite the foot 
of the Forno Glacier at 2.30. This is a noble stream of 
ice which deserves careful exploration, and might be in- 
vestigated in conjunction with attempts to effect passes 
into the Yal della Mare on both sides of the Viozzi Spitze, 
or with ascents of the latter peak and the beautiful pyramid 
of the Pizzo della Mare. Whether the summit of the 
Tresero could be gained from this side is, I think, uncertain, 
but there is little doubt of its accessibility from the direc- 
tion of the Gravia Pass, or even by the glacier which 
descends between its W. and SW. aretes. Which of its 
two peaks is the higher I am unable to state positively : 
my own impression and that of Mr. Ball is, that the one 
visible from Santa Catarina is the lower, but it would 
certainly best repay the labour of an ascent, as everything 



238 EXCURSIONS AMONG THE 

may be seen from it which would be visible from its more 
easterly neighbour, besides much which it conceals from 
the latter.* 

For some distance be}^ond the Forno Grlacier we stumbled 
uncomfortably onwards over slopes of turf, occasionally 
diversified with patches of debris and torrent-beds, till the 
increasing light rendered the use of the lantern no longer 
necessary, and enabled us to dismiss our attendant and 
improve our pace. It was just 4.30 when we reached the 
left-hand or most westerly glacier at the head of the valley, 
descending partly from the SE. slope of the Konigsspitze, 
and partly from the adjacent portion of the ridge con- 
necting that peak with the Sulden Spitze and Monte 
Cevedale. 

We felt some doubt about the identification of the 
Sulden Spitze, which is apparently a mere knob or pro- 
jection, as may be inferred from the fact that its height is 
only 11,109 feet; whilst that of the lowest point of the 
ridge, where we supposed the Cevedale Pass to be situated, 
can scarcely be less than 10,700 feet. Time would not 
admit of my securing a careful outline of the amphitheatre 
of snow summits from the Konigsspitze to the Monte 
Cevedale, enclosing the head of the valley, which I the 
more regret, as the scenery is very fine. 

* For farther details as to the typography of the Ortelcr group, clearing 
up various points which were doubtful when this paper was written, see 
the 'Alpine Journal/ No. XI. (pp.' 143-147) and No. XV. (pp. 353-358). 



ORTELER AND LOMBARD ALPS. 239 

The ice proved extremely slippery, and the snow (which 
covered the glacier in patches) rather treacherous in places, 
so we halted for a quarter of an hour to put on gaiters. 
Keeping straight up the glacier — which was very slightly 
crevassed, of great width, and probably inconsiderable 
depth — we found ourselves about six o'clock at the foot of 
the steep slopes leading to the ridge near where it unites 
with the colossal mass of the Konigsspitze. Up these we 
worked, bearing away slightly to the left so as to gain the 
ridge as near its origin as possible, and at 6.30 stood in a 
depression just beneath the peak. The view over into the 
Suldenthal and away beyond to the mountains of the 
great Oetz Thai Group, the Vorarlberg, Lower Engadine, 
&c, as well as looking back towards the regions we had 
quitted, was most beautiful ; and as we had the day before 
us, and were here tolerably sheltered from the high wind 
which was raving about the more exposed and lofty crests, 
we determined to enjoy it at our leisure whilst discussing 
a second breakfast, already almost too long postponed. 

The height we had now attained appeared, by a rough 
observation with a level, to be about the same as that of 
the Tresero, or in round numbers 11,600 feet ; and as that 
of the Konigsspitze is 12,648, according to the Kataster, 
there still remained 1,000 feet to climb. At 7.15 we 
addressed ourselves to the final tug, which proved steep, 
though presenting no serious difficulty. A snow slope at 
a high angle, occasionally assuming the character of neve, 



240 EXCURSIONS AMONG THE 

and intersected here and there with incipient bergschrunds 
which were easily crossed or turned, led straight up to the 
summit, and is perhaps the best mode by which the latter 
can be attained, though on this point there may exist 
some difference of opinion ; and I will not therefore insist 
on this view, which an ascent direct from the W. portion 
of the head of the Sulden Grlacier by one of the glaciers 
between the Konigsspitze and Klein Zebru may possibly 
prove to be erroneous. At any rate, the result justified 
our selection ; and though, with snow in less excellent 
order or replaced by ice, the rate of progress might be 
very different, I think future travellers will do well to 
follow our example — as was done by my friends Messrs. 
Freshfield, Walker, and Beechcroft, who repeated the 
ascent a few weeks later. 

It was 8.20 when we reached the highest point. The 
wind was here so furious and the cold so intense that it 
was impossible to remain still for many minutes without 
risk of frostbite. I managed with infinite difficulty to 
secure an outline sketch, which gave some idea of the 
majestic aspect which theOrteler here assumes as it towers 
grandly aloft on the other side of the W. head of the 
Sulden Grlacier. In form it strikingly resembles the Piz 
Bernina as seen from the Piz Zupo, though more precipi- 
tous and apparently less accessible than the former peak. 
The view was of the grandest description, and, though 
perhaps equalled by that from the Monte Cevedale, is 



ORTELER AND LOMBARD ALPS. 241 

surpassed by none in the whole district, from the mere 
fact that whilst the Konigsspitze is second only to the 
Orteler itself in height, its situation on the axis of the 
chain gives it a far more commanding position than the 
latter peak, which only cuts off a small and comparatively 
uninteresting portion of the panorama in the direction of 
the Lower Engadine. To the N., S., and SE. the summit, 
which is narrow but drawn out from ESE. to WNW. into 
a flattened arete, sinks away in precipices of wonderful 
height and steepness, on which snow only rests in places. 
To the E. the slope, as already stated, is more gentle, 
whilst to the NW. the ridge falls rapidly to the depression 
on the further side of which is seen the fine peak of the 
Klein Zebru. In this direction it might be practicable to 
creep down a few hundred feet, and then, turning to the 
right, effect a descent to the Sulden Grlacier by a steeply- 
inclined and much-crevassed mass of ice between the 
Konigsspitze and Klein Zebru. Christian and Franz, 
however, both protested against any such attempt being 
made, and so, after exploring for a short distance without 
ascertaining anything very definite, we returned to the 
summit, and starting again at 9.10 regained our breakfast- 
place at 9.40. A descent to the Sulden Glacier at this 
spot appeared difficult, if not impracticable, so we pro- 
ceeded to a point further to the E. and several hundred 
feet lower, which seemed to offer a better chance, and was 
reached at ten o'clock. 

Q 



242 EXCURSIONS AMONG THE 

The exact locality, which we proposed to call the Konigs 
Joch, is distinctly marked by a conspicuous pointed rock 
like a gigantic cairn, which rises immediately to the E. 
of it to a height of twenty or thirty feet. The rocks 
here show indications of copper, and glowed with purple 
tints in the bright sunshine. Below us to the N., a 
very steep slope led down to the glacier, but the snow 
which covered it was soft and unstable, and moreover 
rested on hard ice at a slight depth below the surface. 
Here were all the conditions requisite for the dislodgment 
of an avalanche and the production of an accident, so we 
turned as an alternative to a ridge of broken rocks on the 
left which promised more secure footing for a portion of 
the descent, and till an involuntary glissade in company 
with a mass of snow would no longer be dangerous. After 
reading off the aneroid — which gave, by comparison with 
Aosta and Turin, a height of 11,063 feet (probably some- 
what in excess of the truth) — we stept over the edge at 10.10, 
and soon found that we had got our work cut out for us. 

The rocks were very steep, but this we should not have 
minded if they had been trustworthy, or our number had 
been smaller ; but the fact was that a more utterly disin- 
tegrated, rotten, and untrustworthy collection of stones 
professing to be rocks I never saw. Not even the never- 
to-be-forgotten ridges of Monte Viso present such a com- 
plicated scheme of treachery and deception, and doubt and 
distrust were the garment of our minds. This state of 




' N sA warm we'eomt. ftom Trau. OttltV^ 



0RTELER AND LOMBARD ALPS. 243 

things was all due to the circumstance that the ridge in 
question is composed of a very pure variety of dolomite, 
which I believe had not previously been observed in this 
portion of the chain, but of the character of which there 
can be no doubt, as, through the kindness of Mr. Ball, a 
small specimen has been analysed at the Museum in 
Jermyn Street. We crept slowly downwards, those behind 
in constant fear of dislodging fragments upon those in front, 
and it was not till 11.15 that we stood on the more gently- 
inclined surface of the neve of the great Sulden Glacier. 

An hour's halt was here called for lunch, and at 12.15 
we again set forth, keeping rather to the left beneath the 
rocks of the Konigsspitze, whose glacier-covered summits, 
however, forbade a too near approach. An hour's walk, 
varied by about the average amount of glacier difficulties 
in the shape of crevasses and other obstacles, took us to 
the central portion of the glacier amidst scenery of the 
highest order. The apparent height of the Orteler Spitze 
is, indeed, slightly diminished by the convex form of the 
back of the glacier descending from it, which conceals 
the lower portion of the mountain ; but in close proximity 
the huge mass of the Konigsspitze, followed by the Klein 
Zebru, was seen from base to crown, and formed a most 
imposing feature in the view. 

Whilst I halted to complete a drawing, my companions, 
who were anxious to reach Trafoi with as little delay as 
possible, pushed on down the glacier, leaving me to follow 

Q 2 



244 EXCURSIONS AMONG THE 

at my leisure with Christian and Franz. Three-quarters 
of an hour thus passed away very pleasantly, and at two 
o'clock I started in pursuit. The glacier is of large 
dimensions but gentle inclination, and is fed, in addition 
to the two affluents from the Orteler Spitze and Konigs 
Joch, by a third, which descends from the angle between 
the Sulden Spitze and the southern portion of the ridge 
dividing the heads of the Sulden and Martell Thai, across 
which further to the N. lies the Suldner Joch. 

Following the right medial moraine for half an hour, 
we quitted the ice at 2.30 for the right bank, and at three 
o'clock reached Grampenhofe, the highest hamlet of the 
Sulden Thai just after passing the entrance of the Eosim 
Thai on our right. The Sulden Thai in its upper and 
central portions is a pastoral valley of considerable width, 
flanked on the W. by the magnificent snow-capped cliffs 
of the Orteler, and on the E. by a series of minor summits 
which separate it from the Valleys of Martell and Laas. 
Fine pinewoods clothe the lower slopes ; and these, with 
the broad expanse of bright-green grass that covers its 
nearly level floor, contrast most beautifully with the 
rugged grandeur of the higher regions. It is a striking 
scene of quiet peaceful beauty, enhanced by the charms of 
its setting amidst features of the highest order of grandeur. 
The peasants were all actively engaged in cutting or 
securing their hay-crop, and for miles the busy groups 
enlivened the solitude of this rarely-visited spot. 



0RTELER AND LOMBARD ALPS. 245 

I lingered for half an hour at Grarnpenhofe to indulge 
in some milk, and at 3.30 set off once more, halting 
for thirty-five minutes a little lower down to sketch. 
At 4.25, just after crossing the torrent to its W. bank, 
St. Grertrud was passed on the left. The path still 
traverses the meadows for some distance nearly on a level, 
and then descending more rapidly, as the gradually con- 
tracting valley assumes more and more of a ravine-like 
character, again returns to the right bank, and continues 
along it as far as Gromagoi, which we reached at 6.10. 
Here we turned sharp to the left up the Stelvio road 
towards Trafoi, where I arrived at 7.15, shortly after my 
companions. 

The rest of our party had arrived from the Baths of 
Bormio some hours previously, and thus our forces were 
once more reunited. The little inn at Trafoi and its 
excellent hostess, Frau Barbara Ortler, did their best 
to make us comfortable, and it was voted unanimously 
that we could not think of hurrying away, but would take 
up our quarters there for two nights at least; that the 
next day should be devoted to the quiet digestion of the 
beauties of the neighbourhood, and the following one to 
an ascent of the Orteler Spitze, with which we proposed 
to close our investigations for this season at least. 

The next morning after breakfast there was a fresh 
arrival, whose appearance and equipment at once showed 
him to be a mountaineer. Entering into conversation I 



246 EXCURSIONS AMONG THE 

found, to my delight, that the stranger was no other than 
Herr E. von Mojsisovics, the well-known secretary of the 
Vienna Alpenverein. This was indeed a fortunate meeting; 
for though his arrangements compelled him to be at Santa 
Maria on the 5th, and he could not therefore accept our in- 
vitation to unite with us in the projected ascent of the Or- 
teler, I obtained from his travelling library, as well as from 
himself, much very interesting and valuable information, 
which might otherwise have never come to my knowledge. 
After several delightful hours spent in Herr von 
Mojsisovics' company I followed the rest of the party, who 
had started after breakfast for a stroll to the Heiligen drei 
Brunnen, and found them encamped in a fir-wood — the 
ladies busily engaged in sketching, and the gentlemen 
intent on abandoning themselves to the luxury of laziness. 
By-and-by we were joined by the Herr Secretar, who 
remained with us till it was time to return to the inn. 
The walk from Trafoi to the Heiligen drei Brunnen, being 
described in all the guide-books, scarcely comes within 
the scope of this paper ; but the scenery is so indescrib- 
ably grand, and the union of grass slopes, rock, and wood, 
which occupy the foreground of the picture in ever- 
varying combinations at each fresh turn of the path, is 
so exquisitely lovely, that I cannot refrain from urging 
others whose special object may be merely to cross the 
Stelvio, to halt at Trafoi for at least a couple of hours, 
and devote them to a stroll up the valley. 



ORTELER AND LOMBARD ALPS. 247 

The slopes bounding the valley on the E. are merely 
the lower portion of the ridge which, descending from the 
summit of the Orteler in a nearly northerly direction, 
separates the Trafoi from the Sulden Thai, and call for no 
special remark here. Next to the right, and separated 
from them by a hollow or groove (called by Schaubach the 
Dobretta Thai) running up to the crest of the northern 
spur, is the mass of the Orteler, which presents the same 
majestic appearance characteristic of it when seen from 
every other point of view. The actual summit is invisible, 
but a portion at least of the extensive neve which caps 
the shoulders of the monarch is clearly distinguishable, 
whilst the ( Pleis,' a steep tongue of ice or neve occupying 
a broad couloir by which the ascent is usually effected, is 
very conspicuous from the neighbourhood of Trafoi. On 
the W. the mountain sinks rapidly down in a series of 
step-like crags to the level of the TJnter Trafoier Grlacier 
(the lower Orteler Grlacier of Schaubach and other writers), 
as I have ventured to designate the eastern of the two 
ice -streams which descend into the head of the valley 
from the main ridge, of which the Orteler itself and the 
Madatsch Spitze, on the E. and W., are only gigantic 
spurs. Further to the right the eye rests on a rocky 
ridge : separating the Unter from the Ober Trafoier 
Grlacier, and then on the various peaks of the Madatsch 
ridge seen in perspective, till all further view is cut off 
by a projecting buttress on the N. side of the valley 



248 EXCURSIONS AMONG THE 

round which the Stelvio road winds. In the angle between 
the foot of the Unter Trafoier Glacier and the Tabaretta 
Thai is a steep slope intersected by lines of cliff which 
stretch across it, and clothed with a mingled growth of 
pine and legfohren to a height of 1,000 feet above the 
valley. Up and across this lies the track usually taken in 
ascents of the Orteler. After attaining the summit of the 
wood, the foot of the ' Pleis ' is reached over masses of 
debris which have fallen from the cliffs in front. This 
' Pleis ' constitutes the main difficulty of the ascent, from 
its great rapidity and the frequent occurrence of falling 
stones and hard ice requiring caution and step- cutting ; 
but when once its head is gained, there seems to be no 
difficulty in getting on to the upper plateau of neve ; and 
to reach the highest point of the Orteler over this is 
simply a question of time and endurance, as no obstacles 
of a serious character are met with. 

Herr Mojsisovics had engaged Josef Schopf to accom- 
pany him in his various excursions during the next week 
or two, and on his arrival we all strolled up the road to 
reconnoitre the Orteler and decide on the route to be 
adopted on the morrow T . A careful examination of the 
6 Pleis' with the telescope showed that almost its entire 
surface consisted of glatt-eis which would necessitate an 
enormous amount of step-cutting unless, as Christian sug- 
gested and affirmed, the rocks on its left bank could be 
climbed. We had previously almost determined to cut 
out a new route for ourselves by way of the Tabaretta 




Taty sk'Tffmh £cT {jtov* 



ORTELER AND LOMBARD ALPS. 249 

Thai, and this idea became a fixed resolve ere we returned 
to the inD. 

Some of our party had already started for Mais, and 
the remainder were to follow in the morning and then 
proceed over the Ofen Pass to Zernetz and Pontresina, 
whilst we rejoined them by way of Mais, Nauders, and the 
Engadine. At 9.30 we retired for a few hours' sleep, 
after bidding adieu to the ladies and Herr Mojsisovics. 

We rose at 12.30 on the morning of the oth of August, 
and at 1.45, headed by a lantern-bearer, proceeded along 
the now familiar path to the Heiligen drei Brunnen, 
which we reached at 2.30. Striking up into the wood 
above, we now commenced an ascent over the miseries of 
which it were perhaps better to draw a veil. Of course 
the guide contrived at an early stage of the proceedings to 
miss the way. Equally of course, the lantern was always 
glaring in one's eyes when it was not required and blinding 
one for the next few minutes, or mysteriously disappearing 
just when farther progress seemed impossible without its 
aid. Sometimes we tripped over the rotting stumps or 
fallen trunks of firs, or were brought up dead against 
miniature cliffs, or fell headlong over the long prostrate 
snake-like branches of the abominable legfohren (Pinus 
Mughus), which excited our especial antipathy, as the 
annoyance they caused us was infinitely varied in cha- 
racter. Their favourite trick was to curve round as each 
of us in turn would force his way through their interlaced 



250 EXCURSIONS AMONG THE 

foliage, and then execute vengeance on the next in the 
file, against whose undefended face their heavy tufts of 
needles would sweep back with stinging effect. How 
hot we became, how cross we were, and how our un- 
lucky leader fared at our hands need not here be told. 
Suffice it to say that at four o'clock we found ourselves 
clear of the wood and standing on the edge of the great 
debris-covered hollow leading upwards, in a southerly and 
easterly direction respectively, to the ' Pleis ' and Taba- 
retta Spitze. Schaubach refers to this as the Dobretta 
Thai, but as the Austrian map of Tyrol calls the peak at 
its head the Tabaretta Spitze, I think we may fairly adopt 
that form of spelling. 

The porter was now dismissed, and descending for a 
short distance, and leaving the route to the e Pleis ' on our 
right, we proceeded to traverse the slopes of debris diago- 
nally in the direction of the rocks rising above the right 
bank of the glacier in front which fills the head of the valley. 
The ascent was by no means excessively steep, and several 
masses of well-consolidated snow (probably the remains of 
avalanches from the cliffs of the Orteler) facilitated our 
progress, and proved an agreeable exchange for the small 
rolling stones. At 4.50 the ice was reached, and a halt 
called till five, when we again proceeded rapidly upwards, 
keeping as near as possible to the rocks till forced by the 
dislocated state of the glacier to diverge a little to the 
right. This course was not altogether free from risk, as 



ORTELER AND LOMBARD ALPS. 251 

for some distance the surface was strewn with fragments 
of ice, which had evidently been recently detached from 
the overhanging masses of neve crowning the cliffs of the 
Orteler. There was, indeed, no fear of being caught un- 
awares, as the source and direction of the danger were 
evident ; and though the fall of avalanches is perhaps due 
as much to the state of the weather as to the direct action 
of the sun, yet as a general rule they are least likely to be 
encountered during the early morning hours, whilst in the 
descent the space exposed to them may be traversed so 
rapidly as practically to prevent any risk. Since our ex- 
pedition, however, this source of danger in the new route 
has been entirely avoided by the selection of the next 
valley to the N. of the Tabaretta Thai as the line of 
ascent, and as this is doubtless the more direct course 
from Trafoi it will probably be adopted in future. My 
friend Mr. Ormsby, who himself reached the summit of 
the rocks forming the N. boundary of the upper part 
of the Tabaretta Thai, but was prevented by stormy 
weather from getting farther, informs me that this vari- 
ation of our new route was for the first time struck out 
this autumn by the local guides, and Mr. Headlam, of 
University College, Oxford, who made an ascent of the 
Orteler shortly after us. Having thus reached the head of 
the Tabaretta Thai, they followed our track to the summit, 
and, in proof of their and our success, found the bottle 
containing our names, attached to a small fir-tree which 



252 EXCURSIONS AMONG THE 

we had planted on the highest point. But this is antici- 
pating. 

The neve of the glacier we had been ascending was 
nearly level, and occupied a well-defined hollow between 
the rocky spur from the Tabaretta Spitze on the N. and 
the steep slopes of snow and ice descending from the 
upper portion of the Orteler on the S., which here take 
the place of the cliffs passed farther to the W. In front 
a low but precipitous and much-weathered ridge of rocks 
formed the eastern boundary of the neve of what I may 
perhaps term the Tabaretta Glacier, and cut off all view 
in the direction of the Sulden Thai. At 5.55, just before 
reaching this, we struck off sharp to the right, and ad- 
dressed ourselves steadily to the real work of the day. 
The inclination was considerable but by no means exces- 
sive, and as the ice and snow were very hard at this early 
hour some step-cutting was necessary. Soon a bergschrund 
was encountered and crossed without the slightest diffi- 
culty, and at 6.40, after a steady and stiffish pull, we halted 
for breakfast at the edge of a crevasse where the surface 
was tolerably level. 

The weather was, as usual, everything that could be 
desired, and the view had by this time become most mag- 
nificent, including range after range of peaks away to the 
east, as our present position enabled us to look over on the 
side of the Sulden Thai. 

At 7.20 we resumed our march, and winding steadily 



ORTELER ANE LOMBARD ALPS. 253 

upwards without a halt, amidst and around some enormous 
crevasses and magnificent masses of snow, without on the 
whole deviating much from a direct course to the summit, 
or encountering any really serious obstacle, we stood on 
the highest point of the final arete at 9.27, just seven 
hours and three quarters after quitting Trafoi. We had 
been actually on the march for six hours and three quarters, 
and had, in fact, lost more than half an hour in the wood ; 
so that our progress had been rapid, considering that the 
difference of altitude between Trafoi and the Orteler Spitze 
is 7,733 feet. 

Let me here guard myself against the imputation of 
' doing ' mountains against time, a system which is, I fear, 
becoming not uncommon. It may be retorted that I have 
just dwelt on the comparative rapidity of our own ascent 
of the Orteler, but to this I would reply that the narra- 
tives of almost all our predecessors describe the expedition 
as a very long one ; that we were attempting a new route, 
and, not knowing the nature of the obstacles we might 
encounter at any moment, could not venture to linger 
much on the way; and, lastly, that in order to effect a 
junction at Pontresina with the rest of our party on the 
following evening, it was essential that we should get back 
to Trafoi reasonably early. 

The highest ridge runs from NNE. to SSW., and looks 
like a gigantic snowdrift blown up by the wind to a thin 
edge, capped on the NW. by a corniche, and sloping rapidly 



254 EXCURSIONS AMONG THE 

on the SE. to the fearful precipices which sink away 
towards the western head of the Sulden Glacier. It mi^ht 
not inaptly be compared to the keel of a boat turned 
bottom-up and broken-backed, so as to allow of the stern 
portion being tilted up. , The foot of the rudder-post thus 
reversed would represent the highest point at the NNE. 
extremity, and the convex bottom of the boat itself, 
sloping away on all sides, would be no unfair illustration 
of the great dome-like mass of snow and neve which 
clothes the broad shoulders of the mountain. The arete 
subsides into the general surface at its SW. end, beyond 
which and in the direction of the ridge dividing the 
Sulden and Unter Trafoier Grlaciers, there is a second and 
inferior elevation. 

We struck the kamm at its lowest point, and turning 
sharp to the left proceeded along its gently-inclined pro- 
file, which presented no sort of danger to heads free from 
dizziness. The day was a lovely one ; there was not a 
particle of wind, and as the sun shone warmly down upon 
us we resolved to take our fill of the enjoyment of the 
glorious panorama which our position commanded. This 
was the more needful, as our stay on the Konigsspitze had 
been brief, and we were desirous of atoning for the haste 
rendered necessary on that occasion by the intense cold. 

Truth compels me to confess that the first portion of 
the two hours spent on the summit was devoted to the 
commissariat department, but hunger appeased, we set 



0RTELER AND LOMBARD ALPS. 255 

busily to work to make the most of the time. Clouds 
were already beginning to roll up here and there from the 
valleys, so the first thing to be done was to secure a sketch 
and a photograph. During our progress up the slopes of 
the neve the legs of the camera had unfortunately slipped 
from the fingers of their bearer, and gone flying down- 
wards over the hard-frozen surface, disappearing at last 
over a brow suspiciously like the upper lip of a crevasse. 
All our efforts failed to recover them, and so the future 
local New Zealander may some day fish them out from 
amidst the fragments of avalanches in the Tabaretta Thai. 
A stand was improvised for the occasion by driving three 
axes side by side into the ridge and piling snow upon their 
heads, which when pressed down formed, thanks to rege- 
lation. a level and stable support. Two stereoscopic slides, 
including the Monte Cevedale, the Konigsspitze, and the 
Klein Zebru, with portions of the ridge between the first 
and the Tresero, were at length obtained by E., and very 
successfully, as the result has proved. In the opposite 
direction a wonderful array of peaks met the eye. Tt 
began on the W. with the summits of the Orisons, fol- 
lowed in succession by the Bernina group, the mountains 
of the Middle and Lower Engadine, and the still more 
distant Vorarlberg. Next came the remarkable depression 
through which passes the route of the Finstermiinz, con- 
necting the valleys of the Adige and Inn. The Malser 
Heide — its broad green expanse diversified by the lakes 



256 EXCURSIONS AMONG THE 

and bright-looking villages scattered over its surface, and 
traversed by the long reaches of the white road — was seen 
as on a map, bounded on the E. by the glittering snows 
of the Weisskugel (12,620 feet) and other giants of the 
Oetz Thai. Less familiar forms succeeded as the eye 
ranged over the peaks of the Stubayer, Duxer, and Ziller 
Thai groups to the broad -snowfields of the Venediger, 
and finally rested on the sharp outline of the Gross 
(xlockner, south of which a perfect forest of jagged 
aiguilles indicated the position of the glorious Dolomites, 
which stretch from Botzen on the W. to Villach on the E. 
Still nearer, the fine forms of the outlying members of the 
Orteler Group which cluster round the valleys of Sulden, 
Laas, Martell, Ulten, and Sole, would have attracted yet 
more attention if the superior charms of the monarchs of 
the ice-world had not dwarfed their pretensions. 

Besides the mere extent of the view and the beautiful 
grouping of the elements which composed it, there was on 
this particular day an indescribable charm of colouring 
which I have scarcely ever seen equalled. The atmosphere 
seemed to invest every object with the most wonderful 
harmony of tone, softening all asperities, subduing harsh 
contrasts, and blending the whole into the perfection of 
repose. Time flew rapidly by, and we could willingly 
have lingered; but much remained to be done, and at 
11.10 we reluctantly quitted the summit, after securing 
an aneroid observation, from which, by comparison with 




/They descend in f-rtumpli 







! Aft! So'.' t-htzt^ Enfllsh '! 



gllSJ 



ORTELER AND LOMBARD ALPS. 257 

Aosta and Turin, the height comes out 12,799 feet, or 15 
feet less than the result of the Kataster Survey. 

At 12.35, after a fruitless hunt for the lost legs, we 
reached the level surface of the neve at the head of the 
Tabaretta Thai, and running rapidly down the ice took to 
the moraine on the right bank of the glacier at 12.50. 
Here all doubt and difficulty were at an end, and we felt 
justified in halting for a pipe till 1.30. The wood was 
reached at two o'clock, the Heiligen drei Brunnen at 2.25 
(the Legfohren now doing good service, as we swung 
rapidly down by their long supple arms), and Trafoi at 
three o'clock. Groodnatured Mrs. Ortler received us with 
warm congratulations, gave us an excellent dinner, and 
started us at 5.30 for Prad, which we reached at 6.45, 
after undergoing an examination of passports, and quitted 
at seven o'clock. The Orteler rose more and more grandly 
behind us ; but the light was waning fast as we drove into 
Mais at 8.30. Tea was welcome, and the prospect of a 
long ride in the dark to Nauders did not look tempting. 
However, it was useless to grumble, as the exigencies of 
our compact with our companions would not admit of our 
yielding to the seductions of Mais. Conscious misery was 
at least spared us, and I believe it was with a feeling of 
agreeable surprise that we found ourselves turned out at 
1 a.m. into the road at Nauders before a gloomy rambling 
locked-up house, which for a long time gave no sign of 
life. 

R 



258 



ORTELER AND LOMBARD ALPS. 



Thus ended our campaign in the Orteler district. 
Thanks to the almost uninterrupted fine weather and the 
able assistance of our guides, Christian Michel and Franz 
Biener, we had on the whole cause to be satisfied with 
the results attained, considering how short a time we had 
been able to devote to this object. It must not be sup- 
posed, however, that nothing remains to be accomplished, 
that the harvest has been more than partially garnered by 
us, or that there are not plenty of objects left for the 
explorer and lover of novelties, and still more for those 
who are wise enough to believe that mountains are 
amongst those ' things of beauty' which 'will never pass 
into nothingness,' and are not unworthy of their attention 
because some one else happens to have previously trod 
their summits. 



Table of Heights. 



Date 


Hour 


Station 


Aneroid 


Air 


Aosta 


Turin 


Mean 


Probable 


Aug. 1 


9.45 A.M. 


Madatsch Joch . . 


20.49 


C 

5° 


10850 


10826 


10838 


10750 




11. A.M. 


Monte Cristallo . . 


19.97 ' 


5° 


11583 


11570 


11576 


11370 




5.30 P.M. 


Zebru Pass . . . 


21.15 


9° 


9871 


9945 


9908 


9700 


„ 3 


8.30 A.M. 


Konigs Spitze . . 


18.91 


4°-5 


12C03 


12621 


12612 


12648 




10 A.M. 


Kbnigs Joch . . . 


20.17 


5° 


11060 


11067 


11063 


11000 


» 5 


10.45 A.M. 


Orteler Spitze . . 


19.05 


3°-5 


12722 


12S76 


12799 


12814 



APPENDIX. 



THE earlier attempts to ascend the Orteler Spitze are detailed 
with considerable minuteness by Schaubach (' Deutsche 
Alpen,' B. IV. pp. 19-26), and in the second volume of the 
' Mittheilungen des Oesterreichischen Alpen- Vereines,' Herr 
Pegger, our immediate predecessor, has appended to his per- 
sonal narrative a short account of previous expeditions ; but as 
both these works are comparatively unknown to English readers, 
I venture to think that a brief outline of the results of former 
attempts may not be without interest. 

The summit of the Orteler was reached for the first time on 
the 27th September, 1804, by a famous chamois-hunter, named 
Joseph Pichler, with two natives of the Ziller Thai, at the insti- 
gation of the Archduke John. They were only able to remain 
four minutes on the top, or just long enough to obtain a baro- 
metrical observation, the accuracy of which is, however, more 
than doubtful, as by comparison with Glurns it gave for the peak 
a height of 14,412 French, or 15,360 English feet ! Herr Geb- 
hard, an officer charged with the investigation of the topography 
of the Ober-Vintschgau, was prevented by indisposition from 
accompanying the expedition, but in the following year, with 
indefatigable zeal, he effected the ascent no less than three times. 
He seems, however, to have left no account of his adventures — . 
at least I have been unable to meet with, or hear of any. 

More than twenty years passed by during which we hear 
nothing more of the Orteler Spitze, but on August 20-21, 1826, 
it was again ascended by the Austrian officer of engineers Sche- 

r 2 



260 APPENDIX. 

belka, with Picliler for leader, and Fidel Timel of Sulden, Johann 
Brunner of Gamphof, and Michael Gamper of Agums as subor- 
dinate guides. ' The attack was first made from the side of the 
Sulden Thai, whence Gebhard's attempts were made, but enor- 
mous masses of ice barred all further progress at about five-sixths 
of the height of the mountain, and the original route from Trafoi 
had in consequence to be selected.' From the concluding words 
of this statement, which I extract from Schaubach, it would 
appear that Pichler had started from Trafoi on the occasion of 
the first ascent, but why he afterwards adopted the Sulden Thai 
as his starting-point when 'accompanying Gebhard is not ex- 
plained. Be this as it may, Schebelka and his companions slept 
on the night of August 20 in a ruined hut, which is probably 
the one referred to in more recent narratives as situated near the 
summit of the wood between the Orteler Glacier (Unter Trafoier 
Ferner) and the Tabaretta Thai. Quitting this at 4.30 the next 
morning, they gained the summit at 3.30 p.m. Here they found 
the remains of Gebhard's pyramid, but in the interval since its 
erection the summit had increased in height three klafter (18.67 
English feet). A storm unfortunately coming on, obscured the 
view, and compelled them to beat a precipitate retreat. At 1 a.m. 
they reached the first trees, l still two and a quarter hours above 
the hut,' a statement which seems inexplicable, unless the dark- 
ness of the night or their excessive fatigue rendered their pro- 
gress extremely slow. Finally, it was not till 10 a.m. on the 23rd 
that they returned to Trafoi. 

The next and best-known ascent was effected by Professor 
Thurwieser in 1834, and is minutely described in the ' Zeitschrift 
des Ferdinandeums, 3 Bandchen, Innsbruck, 1837,' pp. 89-163. 
I have not been able to consult the original publication, but a 
detailed resume of the paper is given by Schaubach, from which I 
extract the following particulars : — 

Pichler, now 70 years of age, with his son Lax and Michael 



APPENDIX. . 26 L 

Gamper, acted as guides. The party left Trafoi at 2.30 on the 
afternoon of the 12th of August, and following the path to the 
Heiligen drei Brunnen, thence ascended the ' Bergl,' the spur 
or buttress partially clothed with wood, to which allusion was so 
often made in the foregoing paper. In the hut at its sunimit, which 
was reached at 6 p.m., they took up their quarters for the night 
at a height of 6,327 Paris, or 6,743 English feet. A start was 
effected about four o'clock on the morning of the 13th. 'A ridge 
descending from the Orteler to the Trafoi Thai separates the 
summit of the "Bergl" from the lower Orteler Glacier (Unter 
Trafoier Ferner) which pours down on the right. This ridge had 
to be climbed round, in order to reach the upper portion of the 
glacier, where its surface is more level.' From this passage it 
would appear that Tlrarwieser and his companions attacked the 
Orteler from the W. instead of on the side visible from Trafoi, 
which has been selected by succeeding mountaineers. Whether 
he merely followed in the track of Schebelka is not stated, but I 
think we may presume this to have been the case, as the same 
guide (Pichler) led on each occasion. At 5.15 the lower Orteler 
glacier was reached, and ' the first of the four sections of the 
ascent was thus successfully accomplished.' The ice was at first 
almost concealed beneath the masses of debris which had fallen 
from the cliffs of the Orteler on the left, but soon became purer. 
Proceeding upwards, at first in a southerly and then in a south- 
easterly direction, the glacier was found to be more and more 
dislocated, and considerable difficulty was experienced in forcing 
a passage. This obstacle surmounted, a more . level portion was 
reached, which was, however, intersected by long and wide cre- 
vasses. The course was now altered, and they made straight for 
the cliffs of the Orteler itself, which were reached, not without 
difficulty, at 7.30, after two and a quarter hours' walk over the 
glacier. The second division of the ascent was thus accomplished, 
and the height was found to be 1,200 Paris (1,279 English) feet 



262 APPENDIX. 

above the hut, or 7,527 Paris (8,022 English) feet above the sea. 
The rocks above appear to have proved formidable, but thanks to 
the skill of the gallant old Josele, and the discovery of a couloir 
whose upper and lower portions are known as the ' Schneerinne ' 
and ' Untere Schneerinne,' a sort of elevated gully was reached, 
very steep, and only about two or three klafter (12 to 19 feet) 
broad, called by Thurwieser the ' Obere Schneerinne.' At nine 
o'clock, after a short halt, the travellers proceeded upwards, over 
a succession of perpendicular rocky steps, named * Wandln,' from 
twenty to sixty feet in height, and divided by intervals, named 
' Stellen,' which proved scarcely less troublesome. Finally, at 
11.7, the edge of the Upper ' Orteler Ferner' was reached, after 
a scramble, which had now lasted four hours. Its inclination is 
stated to be 60°-65° (?), and its surface consisted of soft snow 
overlying neve, beneath which was hard ice. Some steps had to 
be cut, but after traversing a short portion of the ice, a level stony 
tract was reached, falling away in perpendicular precipices on the 
SW., and from which the snow had disappeared. The altitude 
was found to be 10,700 Paris (11,404 English) feet. A little 
further on the glacier (neve) was again entered upon, and at 11.19 
they stood upon its first elevation or plateau. Here the giants of 
the Oetz Thai were descried over the ridge to the N., but the 
dome-like form of the neve still concealed the summit of the 
Orteler, and it being impossible to proceed straight in the direc- 
tion in which the latter was supposed to lie, a detour was made 
to the right. The heat and light reflected from the brilliant 
surface, and the increasing inclination of the latter, proved too 
much for poor old Pichler, who was therefore left behind, after 
pointing out to his companions the route to be followed. The 
leadership was now assumed by a certain Strimer, of whom no 
mention had previously been made, but who appears to have been 
on the summit before, and is probably the same man as the one 
previously spoken of under the name of Gamper. The crevasses, 



APPENDIX. 263 

though not numerous, were of enormous dimensions; but at 
length the goal appeared in sight, and they stood at the foot of 
the wind-heaped snowy arete, whose north end formed the actual 
summit. Here a bergschrund all but brought their farther pro- 
gress to a stand, but it was at length successfully traversed, and 
the arete (' Schneide') attained. This was blown up by the wind 
into a mere knife-edge, along which it was necessary to pass. On 
the side overhanging Sulden there was a corniche formed by the 
action of the west wind. Finally, at 12.36, they stood on the 
highest point — a snowy pyramid with sharp angles elevated from 
26 to 32 feet above the dome-like expanse of neve stretching 
away to the N. and NW. The barometer gave a height of 12,044 
Paris (12,836 English) feet, whilst the thermometer indicated + 
4° Eeaumur or 41° Fahrenheit, a temperature which rendered 
the halt on the summit extremely agreeable. There was not a 
breath of ah', and the party were able, without inconvenience, to 
dispense with their coats. 

At 1.30, Lax having been previously despatched to look after 
his father, Thurwieser ' followed with Strimer.' At two o'clock 
they rejoined the Pichlers, who had lighted a fire close to the 
foot of the upper neve at a spot the height of which was found 
to be 10,739 Paris (11,445 English) feet. Halting here till 
2.42, they then proceeded down the * Wandln,' slightly varying 
the route selected in the morning, and reached the lower Orteler 
Glacier at 5.12 and the hut on the * Bergl' at 8.15. The next 
morning the Heiligen drei Brunnen were reached in one hour, a 
Dankmesse was performed in the little chapel, and the whole 
party then returned in high spirits to Trafoi. 

In all the expeditions which have just been described the 
actual summit was attained, but no one, I believe, had since 
succeeded in getting beyond the foot of, or at most half-way up, 
the final snowy arete or Kamm until we once more planted our 
batons on its highest wreath. 



264 APPENDIX. 

The upper Orteler Ferner was reached by a party from Prad 
(including a girl of sixteen) and the 'Grat' itself by Dr. Von 
Ruthner and Herr Karner on the 25th August 1857 (see ' Eine 
Ersteigung der Ortelerspitze,' Mittheilungen der k. k. geog. 
Gesellschaft, 2 Jahrgang, 1858), by Herr Specht of Vienna in 
1860, by two Irish gentlemen, Messrs. R. Jacobs and J. Walpole 
(who were so unfortunate as to be benighted and have to camp 
out on the neve) in 1861, and by Herr Egid Pegger of 
Innsbruck on the 29th July 1863. Anton Ortler of Gomagoi 
and Josef Schopf of Beidewasser seem to have generally acted 
as guides on these occasions ; and, so far as I have been able 
to ascertain, the latter appears to have given entire satisfaction to 
his employers, whilst the former is spoken of in more doubtful 
terms. 

I will conclude this historical sketch with a notice of the 
last-named expedition, which is briefly described by Herr Pegger 
in the second volume of the l Mittheilungen des Oesterreichischen 
Alpen-Vereines.' The party, consisting of Herr Pegger and the 
guides Josef and Alois Schopf of Beidewasser and Franz Hofer 
of Tartsch, left Trafoi at five p.m. on the 24th of July, and 
followed the route taken by Thurwieser as far as the summit 
of the wood on the ' Bergl,' which was reached at 6.30 and a 
bivouac at once organised. A start was effected the next 
morning at 3.30, and proceeding across some slaty slopes and 
up a talus of debris from the northern cliffs of the Orteler, they 
stood at four o'clock at the commencement of the long snow 
slopes with an inclination of 38°, above which commences 
the steep ' Pleis,' which constitutes the main difficulty of the 
expedition. At this point the weather suddenly changed, and 
a fearful storm came driving across from the opposite side of 
the valley. They had just time to cross a small glacier and 
reach an overhanging rock before the tempest burst upon them, 
and as it was followed by steady rain, nothing remained but to 



APPENDIX. 265 

make the best of their way back to Trafoi, which was reached 
in an hour and a quarter. 

At 4.45 on the morning of July 29 they once more stood at 
the entrance of the ' Pleis.' The latter is a very uniform glacier 
or broad ice-filled couloir, some 2,000 feet in length, with an 
inclination of 35 to 45°, and usually consisting in autumn of 
hard slippery ice (Glatteis) which in the present instance was 
still covered with snow. In a quarter of an, hour the ' Burg- 
stall,' an isolated ridge of rock cropping out from the ' Pleis,' was 
reached, and a halt of similar duration called to put on the 
steigeisen or crampons. Keeping close to the rocks on the right, 
up slopes which increased from 38° to 42° and finally to 45° 
(when a few steps had to be cut), they gained at 6.45 the 
summit of the ' Pleis.' The height of this spot is about 9,000 
Vienna (9,334 English) feet, and its position is just at the 
commencement of the upper Orteler Glacier. This latter ap- 
pears to have presented no difficulties, and at 9.15 the party 
stood on the final arete of the Orteler, twenty klqfter (124 
English feet) distant from and about eight feet below the actual 
summit. 

Herr Pegger states that since Thurwieser's visit the arete and 
the summit had much changed, and that the latter appears to 
have become about three Tclafter lower, and to have shifted about 
four klafter farther to the E., judging from the position of the 
pole which had been there since 1834. After working along 
the arete for some distance, the travellers were reluctantly com- 
pelled (apparently by the want of proper axes) to abandon the 
attempt to gain the highest point. Unfortunately, great masses 
of cumuli lay on all the surrounding peaks, and the view was 
therefore almost entirely concealed. How long they remained 
is not stated, but by five p.m. they were once more back again at 
Trafoi. 

It will be seen by a comparison of this account with the 



266 APPENDIX. 

narrative of Thurwieser that the upper Orteler Glacier or neve 
was reached by the northern instead of the western face of the 
mountain; and I believe the other recent ascents have taken 
place in this direction, which was discovered by Anton Ortler 
of Gomagoi, and adopted for the first time by Dr. von Euthner 
and Herr Karner, in 1857. An attempt made on the same day 
from the Sulden Thai by Herr H. Wolf, a geologist, accompanied 
by some guides of Gomagoi, proved unsuccessful, but the party 
reached a height of 11,000 (Vienna) feet, and Herr Wolf attri- 
butes his defeat to the unfavourable weather alone. 

For further details on this subject as well as of more recent 
ascents, I would refer the reader to the interesting papers by 
Dr. Mojsisovics, in the volumes (' Mittheilungen ') of the Austrian 
Alpen-Verein, and to an article by Lieut. Payer, in Petermann's 
' Mittheilungen ' (Erganzungsheft, No. 18). 



A TALE OF THE ROAD. 



' Thus my Italy- 
Was stealing on us. Genoa broke with day, 
The Doria's long pale palace striking out, 
From green hills in advance of the white town, 
A marble finger dominant to ships, 
Seen glimmering through the uncertain gray of dawn. 
E. B. Browning. 



A TALE OF THE ROAD. 



II /["ANY a page has been written on the Corniche, that 
lTA g rea t highway along the coast of the Mediterra- 
nean, and narrow path between Italy and France, with its 
antique towns that seem like mere gatherings of tumble- 
down buildings that in old times grew up around a cara- 
vansary of the road, or a robber stronghold, under whose 
shelter galleys were moored in the harbour, or bandits 
swarmed along the shore; but lately there has been a 
fancy for old tales — s stories retold ' — legends of the road, 
and such like histories ; and a plain recital of how four 
English people drove from town to town, the way their 
horses galloped, the exact distance they made in a given 
time, the costumes of the people, the wayside inns, and 
the thousand and one small incidents that make up a plea- 
sant week's travel, may have some slight interest a few 
years hence — say six or seven — when this article may be 
regarded as a rather valuable relic of the past; and 
the next generation, who will consider themselves by that 
time old enough to criticise their elders, will smile over 
the small adventures, the glimpses of a quiet rural ante- 
diluvian life which to them is a mystery of a bygone age, 



270 A TALE OF THE ROAD. 

That direful giant, steam, with its strong iron feet, is pre- 
paring to tramp with defiant snorts and much of noise 
and smoke over that pleasant land; there will be a rail- 
way hotel possibly, somewhere where a grove of palms 
rises now in quiet security, or a buffet at a station, and a 
little French official will shout, ' Dix minutes d'arret ! ' — 
and young England will eat hurriedly, and then, return- 
ing to his comfortable corner of the carriage, sleep 
through the tunnels to Grenoa, rejoicing in getting there 
in time for the six o'clock table d'hote, and in the know- 
ledge that he has done the Corniche, and that really 
distances are a mere nothing. ' Came from Nice this 
morning — capital smooth line — slept the whole way : 
there's such a lot of tunnels on this sort of coast one 
can't read one's paper in any comfort, so I took a nap, 
and didn't try. What an awful bore travelling must have 
been in the old times, when people absolutely drove the 
whole way, and were six days getting here, sir — six days 
of twelve hours apiece, and had to lodge as they could on 
the road, and of course always came to grief with springs, 
or horses' knees, or a drunken cocher, or something ; and 
yet people used to call that pleasure ! First-rate ale at 
the buffet at St. Eemo ! I shall be back in a week, and 
mean to do the little distance by night. It's rather a sell, 
you know, if one can't manage to vary one's sensations. 
I've got rather a new thing in a reading-lamp, and mean 
to get up a review article going home.' 



A TALE OF THE ROAD. 271 

And so our tale of the road comes to be written ; there 
is but a little breathing time left us before some great 
capitalist or company comes on the ground and makes sad 
certainty of our fears. Just now the railroad is in a mess, 
and at a standstill ; for the last two years, and longer for 
aught I know, there have been vast excavations, mounds 
of earth flung up, tunnels begun and sometimes completed, 
and at one little fishing village there is a stack of iron 
rails, an ominous parallelogram, looking out of place, 
stranded there on the sand amongst the fishing-nets, like 
a relic of San Lorenzo that may have been miraculously 
floated and washed ashore. Very ugly ' salvage ' the poor 
voituriers think as they smack their whips and drive jeer- 
ingly past. The railroad is insolvent, and no one seems 
to know what items of humanity represent it ; there was 
once an Italian company which failed, and there is sup- 
posed to be a mysterious understanding existing with the 
credit mobilier, which has no observable effect. Here and 
there at long intervals upon the road you encounter an 
engineer and a man with a book or a chain, and I have 
even seen labourers at work, and watched them with a 
vague wonder as to whether they were real, and were 
actually paid by somebody on a Saturday night, and would 
be put on again the next Monday morning. 

The voituriers — the mail-coachmen and postboys of the 
road, nod their heads gloomily over their own future. It 
is the old story over again ; very pathetic, to my mind. 



272 A TALE OF THE ROAD. 

I remember a mournful history of the end of an old post- 
chariot, written I think by Mr. Charles Dickens, in which 
he tracked man and vehicle to their last resting-place, 
and found the latter robbed of its glory of wheels and 
shafts, grounded in a patch of cabbages, and the aged post- 
boy living inside. If such should be the fate of the car- 
riage in which we made our triumphal progress from Nice 
to Grenoa, Carlo Bassetti will be able to advertise it as a 
two-storied house, and let lodgings ; for it was wonderful 
for size and general convenience and comfort, could be 
closed or open, with the usual amount of glass windows, 
fitted in between the woodwork, and hidden away in all 
directions in a marvellous manner unknown to English 
builders ; there was a coupe which of itself would make 
a bathing machine, and a great place behind for luggage 
which, with the addition of a tarpauling roof, would be an 
admirable outhouse. It was white outside with the dust 
of ages, but that was part of its respectability. Its owner 
would have scorned to clean it, looking on such traces of 
antiquity with much the same pride as that with which 
a butler would cherish the cobwebs that decorate the 
cork of some especially choice vintage. And the driver 
was the owner, that was its crowning recommendation ; 
he could drive his well-bred wiry little horses as he 
pleased, and fortunately for us that was < steadily up 
hill, and give them their heads when they reach the 
summit.' 



A TALE OF THE ROAD. 273 

How poor all written words seem to describe our plea- 
sure : the big carriage lumbering up to the door of the 
hotel, the luggage strapped on by busy porters, a great 
basket lifted in well stocked for picnics by the way, great 
bunches of red and yellow roses filling up the corners and 
resting against a perfect hedge of orange blossom on the 
back seat. We mount to our places ; a light overcoat, 
dust cloaks, muslin covers to the hats, white sunshades, 
French chocolate, pale ale, pate de Strasbourg, bread and 
cheese, and stores of bonbons, books, English newspapers 
(our ' Saturday Eeview ' has not arrived, has been stopped 
in Paris, alas, on account of a critical and Imperial 
analysis), sketch-books, and endless etcetera ; our cocker 
draws the long whip through his fingers, uncovers to the 
company, who, assembled under the verandah, watch our 
start with sympathising interest, the secretary congratulates 
us upon the weather, we compliment him upon the ad- 
mirable arrangement of his hotel, men spring apparently 
out of the earth and touch their caps insinuatingly and 
then with delicately graduated shades of appreciation, the 
cocker mounts to his box, gathers up the long reins, care- 
fully sits on the end of them, cries ' avanti ' to his horses, 
and with a cheery bon voyage from the verandah, we 
wheel round the corner at a quick trot, and with gay 
smackings of the whip and jubilant outcries from the 
driver, and a glad chorus of little barkings from the very 
small dog who sits up on his tail on the topmost trunk 



274 A TALE OF THE ROAD. 

behind, trying to look like a chasseur, we make a good 
start in the pleasant afternoon sunshine. 

There had been a sudden shower, which had laid the dust 
and washed the great shining lemon leaves, and cooled and 
freshened the air, and here and there the scarlet geranium 
blossoms were scattered across the path as we passed open 
gateways or light railings, that made pleasant breaks in 
the stretch of high-walled gardens, and showed us glimpses 
of villas, and beds gay with flowers, houses that for the 
most part were settling into a state of summer somnolency, 
with firmly-shuttered windows closed till the next season 
for the flight of birds and humans southwards, left under 
the care of sunburnt cheery old women, who sat on the 
lowest step of the terrace by the big orange tree in the 
green tub, their heads tied up in red handkerchiefs, and 
with a snowy fichu drawn across the shoulders, the withered 
ringers busy with their knitting, never stopping in their 
work, though they look up and nod with a bright buona 
sera as we rattle past. Oh the high balustrade, a few 
yards further, is a pretty group, rich enough in its brilliant 
colouring to beguile a painter for a long day's work in the 
sun, a bright brown face laughing down on the child 
crowing at the horses, and askant at us, with innocent 
happiness in the great black eyes. The masses of wavy 
hair are almost blue in the light, and the woman sits with 
an indolent grace, full in the sunshine, which strikes on 
her uncovered head, and makes deep sharply-cut shadows 



A TALE OF THE ROAD. 275 

across her neck and hands, and the white wall against 
which she leans, her scanty dress draping itself in soft folds, 
of a deep warm colour, like the tint of an Etruscan vase 
or fresh bright earth, wonderfully in harmony with such a 
head. These women love strong quiet-toned colours, as 
though their eyes needed the rest of such amidst the glare 
of white stone and marble, where earth and sea and sky 
seem scintillating w T ith light. April was drawing to a close, 
so these pleasant-faced concierges were fairly in possession, 
and their little children watched us under perfect bowers 
of roses and clematis, that grew about the gates. As we 
mounted higher, the valleys and hills surrounding Cimier 
looked most lovely in the afternoon warmth and light, and 
far away in the distance the Col di Tenda shone white and 
glistening with snow. A fresh turn in the road, a steep 
bit surmounted, and a whole range of snowy peaks came 
into view. Our cocker gave an exultant smack with his 
whip, and cried, e Voild les Alpes maritimes.' The horses 
sniffed the clear mountain air, which came to us in 
great gusts, blowing through their manes, their heads 
held up to meet it with little glad neighings of delight, 
and the travellers turned eager eyes towards the moun- 
tains, welcoming them as old friends, and drinking in the 
delicious air, le vent frappe, which came to them across 
the ice-fields, with happy remembrances of glacier expedi- 
tions, and cool tramping through the snow. The hill was 
surmounted, and after the hot climb it was pleasant to 



276 A TALE OF THE ROAD. 

dash round the long curves of the road in a good canter, 
feeling our spirits rising with every new peak that came 
into sight, and every fresh little burst of the horses, who 
were ready to race anything and everything on the road, 
and dashed recklessly past a staid old cure in a gig, and 
muleteers descending towards the shore, and the small 
ragazzi of the road, who gave us cheers, ironical or con- 
gratulatory, as we passed. 

Still higher and higher, till Nice was hidden from view, 
which we had been looking down upon round an inland 
corner. The sea once more came into sight, not the 
brilliant emerald of the morning, but a peacock blue and 
green, almost as deep in tinting as the dark little Tyrol 
lakes, and apparently floating upon it, far below us, was 
the grey promontory beyond Villa Franca, lying like a 
great flat oyster-shell out on its travels. The hills were 
all grey and crumbly, with violet shadows, which are 
sometimes almost of an inky blackness. The little town 
of Esa was hardly to be distinguished from the stones it 
grew out of ; our road led us between broken bits of rock 
where vegetation seemed to have died away, and a roman- 
tic or melodramatic mind might revel in the knowledge 
that somewhere hereabouts there was once a murder, 
sacrilege committed, a papal ban following, and an ec- 
clesiastical malediction, beneath which flowers faded, crops 
perished, and the stones were allowed to have it all their 
own way. But even such a wealth of interest and legend- 



A TALE OF THE EOAD. 277 

ary lore did not tempt us to linger. We met flocks of 
goats, who seemed to find the excommunicated grass rather 
poor living, women and children, travellers on foot and in 
carriages, and found palms, pines, olives in every hole 
and cranny, when once the more desolate hills were left 
behind, and, above all, flowers everywhere. Each little 
three-year-old beggar on the road had roses in its hand, 
and it took some time to harden our hearts against such 
poetical mendicity : — a pair of lovely eyes lifted pleadingly 
as you pass, and a bunch of red roses held out in silence. 
They look like little St. Barbaras, or sweet young Saint 
Elizabeths of Hungary, and it is only the constant repeti- 
tion of such groupings that, like the ubiquitous properties 
of relics, restores the Protestant mind to its proper tone 
of calm common sense. 

As the shadows lengthen, the sea breeze begins to blow. 
The little green lizards, who have been basking in the 
heat, scamper up the high white walls, and vanish amongst 
the lemon trees, which grow more and more frequent, and 
are gay with their ripe fruit and thousands of blossoms, 
richer and brighter in their tintings than the white orange- 
buds which bloom amidst their great golden balls. The 
falling dew seems to make them exhale a fresher, deeper 
perfume. The air is intoxicating with their sweetness, and 
it is almost more than is good for us and the insects. 
After our two weary days' journey through France, we 
seemed suddenly to have entered upon a new existence, 

S 2 



278 A TALE OF THE ROAD. 

and to be nearing those enchanted gardens of the Hes- 
perides, looking, as Jason did, upon 

1 A place not made for earthly bliss, 
Or eyes of dying men, for growing there 
The yellow apple and the painted pear, 
And well-filled golden cups of oranges 
Hung amid groves of pointed cypress trees ; 
On grassy slopes the twining vine-boughs grew, 
And hoary olives 'twixt far mountains blue, 
And many-coloured flowers, like a cloud 
The rugged southern cliffs did softly shroud ; 
And many a green-necked bird they saw alight 
Within the slim-leaved, thorny pomegranite, 
That flung its unstrung rubies on the grass, 
And slowly o'er the place the wind did pass 
Heavy with many odours that it bore 
From thymy hills down to the seabeat shore.' * 

The green frogs sit under the bulrushes, and make a great 
deal of noise, each having much to say, and all croaking at 
once. We descend rapidly by wonderful curves, and cross 
high narrow bridges, and feel we are indeed nearing Italy, 
as we see the steep slope before us terraced with the utmost 
care and gardening toil. It looked in the distance as 
though some burly giant had built himself an easy flight 
of steps to the shore, thinking a little sea-bathing might 
be good for his constitution. 

At about six o'clock we drew near the first villas of 
Mentone, anticipating with fond security at least two 
good nights' sleep, and a day of happy exploration among 

* Morris's Jason. 



A TALE OF THE EOAD. 279 

the hills ; but, unfortunately for our hopes, there was a 
canker at the root — that is to say, an insect in the air (a 
fact to be multiplied by thousands !). Some one had 
warned us against one of the bays. We were quite satisfied 
so far, but there our information ended, and we could not 
recall which was the right one.* Not that there was much 
choice ; for at this season Mentone was preparing in hot 
haste for its summer repose. We encountered but one or 
two stray travellers in the streets as we drove through the 
little town, and thought ourselves fortunate in seeing the 
windows still open of the Hotel de la Paix, and a waiter 
sitting on the doorsteps contemplating the sea. Here we 
could have rooms, and the society of a famille anglaise, 
who formed the table d'hote. We were soon established in 
capital quarters, and made acquaintance with the English 
family of two, who told us the hotel was to have been 
closed that day, and would probably be so on the morrow, 
and that they thought we should find the provisions 
were at an end ; but we decided that, as the family were 
there for their health, they naturally took a morbid 
view of things, and that it would all come right; 
and we made enquiries as to donkeys for the morrow, 
and laid plans for a picnic, which our father regarded 
sceptically. The dinner was objectionable, both as to 
quantity and quality, coming suddenly to an end before 

* The Mosquitoes are said to be entirely confined to the bay of Mentone, 
nearest Genoa. 



280 A TALE OF THE ROAD. 

we were at all prepared for such a denouement ; but we 
were still hopeful, and made the best of everything. The 
English family was to start early the next morning for 
Paris and Dover, and after the dinner they said good-bye, 
adding mournfully, they hoped we should not find the 
mosquitoes troublesome ! How any invalid could have 
supported for weeks the life of bersaglieri conflict we 
endured during that one night, and lived, it is impossible 
to conceive. 

Feeling a little uncomfortable after such a warning, on 
reaching our rooms we instituted a search ; the walls were 
literally lined with an army of invaders, and for the next 
two hours the battle raged fiercely ; there was a slipper, 
a handkerchief, a high-heeled boot, and the courage of 
despair on one side; on the other, the immensity of num- 
bers, and a spirit of daring utterly reckless of conse- 
quences ; the slaughter was terrible, but the mosquitoes 
remained virtually masters of the field. Of course we 
would not allow that we were beaten, and we did lie 
down and even tried to sleep, trusting feebly in the pro- 
tection of our gauze draperies, and then the enemy had 
their revenge ; under the cover of night they made fresh 
approaches and prepared to destroy us by wholesale con- 
sumption. Had sufficient time been given them, they 
might have succeeded in their object, but with the first 
dawn of day we reasserted ourselves and sat up — feeble 
indeed and exhausted, but with sufficient strength to pre- 




Ou/T fn%t artaiA 






TL 



tncrny tcu 



lL.inol elioTge. ctgcui 




Cai-ry.'nrf dowa Hie. Lemons ■ Men lone. 



•y.ng 



A TALE OF THE ROAP. 281 

pare for flight. Of course another such night was not to 
be thought of, and we arranged to start in the afternoon 
for San Kemo, devoting one morning to seeing what we 
could of the nearest hills above Mentone and the little 
town itself. 

The people look poor, and their houses are dirty and 
poverty-stricken, as in so many of these fishing villages, 
where the women are almost always thriftless and untidy, 
and the houses grievously ill-cared for. Much has been 
done for the people by many good charitable souls, schools 
established for the children, and earnest quiet labour per- 
severed in for many years to help the poor mothers, 
morally and spiritually, but there is still sore need for 
more. Grladly and thankfully recognising the vast amount 
of good already effected by many strangers and inhabitants, 
we may be allowed to plead for yet greater efforts and 
individual work amongst the people of these winter homes 
in Italy. This beautiful little town has grown up very 
suddenly, almost called into existence out of its old life 
as a fishing village by the needs and affection of the 
English. We have signified our pleasure in the place, 
and houses and hotels and shops have sprung up as a 
natural sequence, and we rather pride ourselves on 
spending a good deal of money there, and doing a 
great amount of good to the people. I often wonder 
whether that is true practically, whether these poor 
honest-faced dirty southerners are any the better for our 



282 A TALE OF THE ROAD. 

coining and building houses on their fair headlands 
and big hotels in the little streets. We settle down 
with home newspapers, and pleasant picnics, and almost 
fraternise with these picturesque peasants over our sketch- 
books, and feel we are setting them a very good example 
by our conduct in general, and our English Sundays in 
particular. It is a good, pleasant, harmless life enough ; 
but surely there is better stuff in us, an infinite power 
of helping and teaching, and plenty of will to do the 
work, if only we would stop to think about it. These 
moralisings will hardly fit into our story of a drive along 
the shore, but we and our horses need halting-places, and 
if there is no time for such action as we are pleading for, 
there is often time for a wonderful amount of thought. 
Lady Herbert has written on this subject words that are 
so good and true, that we must venture to repeat some of 
them here. 6 Let us ask ourselves why it is that, among 
the many English who yearly go abroad to seek for health 
or enjoyment in a southern climate, so few are found to 
devote any portion of their time during those winters to 
the care of the sick and suffering poor around them? 
They do it gladly at home; in their own villages it comes 
as a matter of course. Why is it then that they shrink 
from doing it abroad ? Is there not everywhere suffer- 
ing to be relieved, kind and soothing words to be spoken, 
little and comparatively costless pleasures to be given? 
. . . This short time devoted to God's poor will brighten 



A TALE OF THE ROAD. 283 

and sanctify their lives ; will give them an aim and a 
purpose unknown to the desultory pleasure-seekers around 
them ; and the very dullest residence will become to them 
at once invested with an interest and a charm which no 
worldly amusement can afford ; while their memory will 
live in the hearts of the grateful people, and a mutual 
love will spring up between them which neither time nor 
distance will efface.' 

Up, by a steep winding path, we mounted slowly in the 
hot noon-day sun, seeking the little English burial-ground. 
A terrace, bounded by a broad stone balustrade, crowns 
the hill and looks down upon the sea ; a little spot, a mere 
strip of earth, but dear and hallowed to how many hearts ! 
There are but a few graves, but they have been tenderly 
cared for, and are beautiful with pure white crosses and 
broad slabs of stone, half hidden by the masses of the 
purple passion-flower, of red roses, of sweet-scented lilies, 
that cluster at their feet and wind their tendrils clingingly 
across the carven marble; signs and emblems of so 
many things — of faithful human love, true and unfor- 
getting, of young lives that have faded in their noon- 
day sun, and in all the beauty of their bloom ; and, above 
all, rose and passion-flower, emblems of -Love and Death, 
mysteries the deepest and the most divine, Christus Sal- 
vator written upon every leaf. Here, where the scented 
air is heavy with the perfume of orange blossom and 
musical with the hum of happy insect life, those who were 



284 A TALE OF THE ROAD. 

weary, and maybe somewhat heavy laden, have lain down 
to rest, very quietly, with folded hands, waiting the last 
glad Evangel. Far below them, softened as it nears the 
shore by a veil of silver-leaved olives, the sea lies green 
and still, stretching far away to meet the deep blue of the 
sky. Bells from the old church towers half-way down 
ring matins and vespers to the sailors on the water, and 
the dwellers in the little town, where houses are piled one 
against another in picturesque confusion, each gaining as 
best it may a doubtful foothold on the steep hill-side, 
their deep red roofs making pleasant bits of colour amongst 
the grey woods and the golden lemon orchards. This 
little burial-ground is not hidden away from human hopes 
and sympathies and daily life, is neither lonely nor de- 
serted, only 6 set apart,' lifted above the turmoil and the 
care, and lying in the sunshine. And so He giveth His 
beloved sleep. 

tJ£ Tfp ^F 3l> 7ft tF 

The mistrael was blowing as we drove away from Men- 
tone; a wind most undeservedly belied, we thought, as 
we welcomed the cool fresh breeze from the sea. Almost 
every one knows the road, so there is little need of re- 
capitulating a list of all its charms and interests. It 
resembles an old mail-coach road in England in one 
respect only, that it is kept in thoroughly good repair, 
and differs from it inasmuch as it is rich in many a mile 
of rather tumble-down old villas, in glorious eastern palms, 



A TALE OF THE ROAD. 285 

in hedges of green and prickly pear, in little shrines to the 
Madonna, in crowds of beggars waiting with an Italian's 
lazy patience at lonely corners, and catching a diligence 
at a long hill, in Spanish-looking mules, and Murillo-like 
boys who cry for soldi, and in the general absence of 
turnpikes. Our stage was a short one again and quickly 
over, the little horses doing their work merrily and rattling 
their bells at the beggars, whom they left gasping far 
behind. The laws of the road are as binding as those of 
the Medes and Persians. No two-horse carriage may pass 
one with four, as long as it is in motion. We had a fifth 
horse, but we should have scorned to make the most of 
that small advantage, or to have attempted to distance a 
voiture a quatve chevaux with which we had a speaking 
acquaintance, if it should so happen that that voiture 
should start some fine morning before us. As it was, it 
was just one day behind. But there was always the dili- 
gence ; a diligence going to Grenoa, and one to be met on 
the way, and the law says that the diligence may pass 
anything. These enactments are not, I believe, to be 
found on parchment, but they certainly do exist, either 
written in the dust on the carriage or stamped on the 
consciences of the drivers, and sorrow comes invariably to 
those who attempt to evade them ; at all events, we nearly 
came to direful grief after setting them at defiance, as my 
tale will show. 

There was one carriage on the road with four English, 



286 A TALE OF THE ROAD. 

who went slowly and steadily forward, getting up early 
and always making a long day's work of it ; we learnt 
to know their faces, and once when they overtook us while 
we were lunching and feeding two small boys with cakes 
and oranges, we longed to indulge our impulse to extend 
hospitality to our countrymen, feeling intuitively that they 
must be hungry ; but the fear of the ( world's dread laugh ' 
at such a solecism, and their probably well-bred astonish- 
ment in the remembrance that we had not been intro- 
duced, deterred us, and we had to fall back upon a brother 
and sister in a landau who were younger, and with whom, 
having fraternised previously at Nice, we were in a posi- 
tion to share a biscuit without indiscretion. 

At five o'clock (two hours from Mentone), we drew 
up at the Hotel Victoria in pleasant San Remo. How 
Romulus and Remus were ever canonised it is difficult to 
imagine; but tradition tells of an archbishop of Genoa 
of the ninth century, a St. Romulus, in whose honour the 
little town of Matuta was built; but faring badly under 
his auspices, and being roughly handled by the Saracens, 
who cared little for the saintly benediction, the inhabitants 
retreated to the hills, and tried their fortune once more 
under the same august patronage. A hundred years later 
a band of enterprising citizens descended once more to 
the coast, and rebuilt the fallen houses of Matuta, to 
which, says Mons. Elisee Reclus, ' on donne le nom de 
Sanremo, pour indiquer ainsi la fraternite des deux cites 



A TALE OF THE ROAD. 287 

voisines ; ' the saintly prefix being a delicate touch of 
southern sentiment and national vanity, gratifying at once 
to the small town itself, and to the feelings of the younger 
of the old Roman brothers. San Remo is certainly under 
the especial patronage of one of the first Roman prince 
bishops (if ecclesiastical history decides to regard the 
great Twins in that light, being always a little vague and 
shadowy as to times and seasons), and flourishes accord- 
ingly, being a bright, cheery, cleanly place. Old San 
Romulus has a few houses somewhere near by, but he is 
merely looked upon as a poor relation, hardly to be recog- 
nised by San Remo in its prosperity. 

The visitors here, too, were mostly gone, though there 
were many idlers under the chestnut avenue, carriages 
driving home, and sweet-faced English children, talking 
little broken French sentences to their bonnes. At the 
hotel we were e monarch s of all we surveyed,' or at least 
sole tenants-at-will. There was plenty of time for a walk, 
so the ladies of the party started on a voyage of discovery, 
the success of which looked doubtful, as only the youngest 
traveller could speak a word of Italian, and her Italian was 
the language of Manzoni, and unadapted to the questions 
and remarks incident to common life. The others usually 
adopted a system, very simple, but sure in its results; 
they always went straight to their point ; if a church 
was the object desired, they said e chiesa ' or e basilica,'' 
feeling so far safe, and then added the name of the par- 



288 A TALE OF THE ROAD. 

ticular church, or its patron saint, interrogatively. This 
always elicited a voluble reply, which being unable to 
comprehend, they waited till the native was exhausted, 
and then pointed, still interrogatively, to the four points 
of the compass; one being indicated, and a clue thus 
given, they instantly seized it and started, and wherever 
the path became two or even three, as paths are given to 
do suddenly in a totally unexpected and aggravating 
manner, they would stand patiently and point again. 
But this language of signs was scorned, as belonging 
simply to the infancy of nations, by the youngest traveller, 
who conscientiously endeavoured to unravel the remarks 
of the inhabitants, and to follow their advice, which 
sometimes led the party into the perplexities of a water- 
course, or a cul de sac amongst vineyard walls. In the 
present instance, we were bound to the Church of La 
Santa Annunziata ; as it was on the summit of a hill, and 
most of the paths went up steps, we rightly supposed 
that one or other staircase would land us there at last, 
though sometimes we appeared to go through the very 
houses of the townspeople, and into second stories of the 
buildings, where it seemed impossible we could come out 
anywhere but on the roofs. At last, however, the stairs 
came to an end, changing to stones and pebbles ; and 
then olive trees grew again on grass slopes, and we met 
women laden with baskets of lemons, and men and boys 
with goats and mules, preparing to go down the stairs, 
and finding their stables somewhere on the third or fourth 



A TALE OF THE ROAD. 289 

stories of that queer heap of old tenements. The view 
from the plateau above was very fine, but we feared to 
linger, as twilight was deepening, and there were some 
very rough-looking people to be passed on our way 
down under the dark arches. One old crone, fearful to 
look upon, with eager eyes, and scanty grey hairs, and 
withered hands held out as if to grasp us, begging for 
buona mano vociferously, and with angry declamation, 
and a dark handsome woman with a wild face followed 
us muttering excitedly, and only half willing to let us 
go by. Out in the open air again, we ran down a dry 
old watercourse, exchanging good night with the peasants 
returning from the fields; one with a sheep and lamb 
fastened by a cord, one bending beneath a heavy load of 
fresh grass, and with a goat that followed bleating, while 
she gossiped with a handsome-faced contadino, who, with 
his dog and gun, lingered at her side. There was a 
paper on the church door above, granting plenary in- 
dulgence to all visitors; on the strength of which, no 
doubt, the old women on the staircase exact their dole of 
charity. 

On the following morning we tried to get to the top 
of an olive wood, but found it hard work to ascend a 
hill monotonously terraced, to keep the earth, which is 
always carefully prepared and manured, about the roots 
of the trees, and with a series of steep steps and broken 
piles of stones designed for the use of man; very rough 
stepping-stones we thought them for the poor bare-footed 



290 A TALE OF THE ROAD. 

girls, who came down so heavily weighted, that they could 
not pick their way, and must have often suffered cruelly 
in the descent. Here, again, our father wisely sought 
shelter and repose aux bords de la mer, while the three 
other travellers began their toilsome climb. An olive wood in 
theory, and to a certain extent truly so, is a very beautiful 
thing, but it was noon of a hot summer's day, the sea- 
breeze had prudently remained below also, and the top 
boughs of the olive trees alone caught any air that was 
going that way ; the staircase seemed to go on for miles ; 
it was like a very early and rude representation of Jacob's 
ladder, the top whereof was lost in the clouds. We gave 
up in despair our hopes of looking down on the highest 
olive trees, seating ourselves instead for a long rest in the 
grass, and tried to paint their silver leaves, and the fair 
green sea that lay smiling far below us, and the blue light 
above our heads, and then scrambled down again to San 
Eemo, with handfuls of wild flowers of a rare beauty, as 
our reward. Very welcome was some vin du pays, in the 
shape of lemonade made from the fresh fruit cool and 
scented as its blossoms. 

A thunderstorm gathered later over the town, the 
lightning flashed, and there were growlings and mutter- 
ings amongst the hills, and then the heavy drops fell with 
a dull plash, faster and faster, and a great sheet of water 
dashed against our windows and darkened the leaves and 
earth. A pleasant storm, soon over, welcome as summer 



A TALE OF THE ROAD. 291 

rain always is, and followed by sunshine that was reflected 
from each little bead of light hanging on the flowers, or 
glistening on the harness of our good little beasts, who, 
standing at the door, pawed the ground impatient to be 
off again. Some of the last day's dust had possibly been 
washed away in that sudden flood, and made some dirty 
little muddy pools amongst the baggage ; but during the 
course of ages the dust on a real old ( campaigner ' is 
either ingrained or veneered; it is an indurated white 
covering, composed originally of a pulverised conglome- 
rate, a ' deposit ' which in time adheres so closely to its 
receptacle that it forms part of the whole, and it would 
be difficult for the most skilful analytical chemist to say 
where leather ends and where dust begins. 

What perfect happiness it was, perched up in the coupe, 
to look down on those fine good little steeds, who took 
kindly to the road as though they enjoyed the fun as 
much as we did, to watch the way in which one would 
sham fatigue and give up pulling, and how a little re- 
proachful word from the cocker touched its conscience in a 
moment, and sent it into a repentant gallop at the next 
hill. How perfectly he had them in hand, and how well 
they knew him ! A low whistle would check them in a mo- 
ment at the greatest speed, and as for the whip, that was 
simply used as a musical accompaniment, Bassetti looking 
ferociously around as we clattered through the queer little 
towns on our route, lashing out right and left in a way 



?92 A TALE OF THE ROAD. 

that imposed on nobody. No one who has not driven a 
mail-coach through the narrow alleys about the Seven 
Dials, or any other well-known and populous retreat, would 
be qualified to take the place of an Italian voiturier ; 
the highway becomes in a moment the width of your 
carriage, and the old houses topple over threateningly, 
only prevented from falling on you by great beams, that 
prop them up, and arches that rest between their upper 
stories ; suddenly, your road narrows, if that were possible, 
and goes into a tunnel ; it is like driving through a drain, 
with humans instead of rats clinging to the walls to escape 
your wheels ; and rags, and fish, and miserable merchan- 
dize of beans and polenta, filling up the openings to the 
dwellings where the poor creatures congregate in crowds. 
Here the whip has enough to do, and twists itself into a 
little agony of warning shrieks to any carriage or diligence 
that may rashly enter the tunnels at the other end. A 
queer fact this to be realized, that a road between Italy 
and France, after all that has been said about ' the march 
of civilization,' ' the high road of nations,' ' the progressive 
advancement of humanities,' has to creep through the 
afore-mentioned drains literally or metaphorically, how- 
ever proudly it may set out on its travels. It is a pity, 
surely, that somehow it has left so little trace of its pro- 
gress in any change for the better, for a small matter of 
eight or nine hundred years ! 

Travelling on, we turned a headland and came upon 



A TALE OF THE ROAD. 293 

Porto Morizio, a grand pile of buildings, churches, chapels, 
houses, with rows of arcades and open loggw rising one 
above the other, and towering over the sea. A mile and a 
half at an easy canter, and we are at the handsome suspen- 
sion bridge, with its two marble arches, that leads to Oneglia, 
where we and our horses are to rest for the night. Porto 
Morizio is a modern affair as compared to Romulus and 
Remus, a mere eleventh century town, but boasting some 
6,000 inhabitants ; Oneglia lies on the low land beside the 
sea, and, according to our old friend Reclus, the former 
offers ' an aspect superb,' the latter is simply c gracieuse ! ' 
In both, work being over for the day, the streets were 
swarming with people, and od this coast, as Mr. Dickens 
says of some nearer home, a good many men seem to earn 
their livelihood by looking at the sea. At the arc de 
triomphe of the bridge was a toll-bar, necessitating a 
slight delay, a huge diligence painted black and yellow 
and looking like a collection of gigantic bees that had 
just swarmed and brought their luggage with them, stood 
heavily freighted, but with a good team of six horses, 
waiting while the driver, who had descended to pa} 7 , 
fumbled for his change. We saw a gleam of delight in the 
eye of our cocker, and cried £ Avanti ! ' under our breath : 
flinging down a coin without drawing rein, he gave the 
horses their heads, the diligence driver rushing wildly to 
his place, and only regaining it as we dashed by, and then 
for seven minutes and a half there was almost a neck 

T 2 



294 A TALE OF THE ROAD. 

and neck race, the two great lumbering carriages swinging 
frightfully from side to side as we dashed through the 
town. Our leaders once bolted across an open piazza, 
jamming us however in such a manner that no one could 
pass, and we managed to hold our own and make a fresh 
start, townspeople and salesmen, carts and carriages 
drawing hastily aside, and with a gasp of content we 
drew up at the Hotel Eoyal, winners by a length ! 

The evening was glorious, and after securing rooms, the 
feminine portion of the party was tempted by the rich 
sunset light to linger in the open air, while our father 
returned to the hotel, and ordered supper. The ladies 
wandered round to the port at the back of the town, 
making small sketches of Porto Morizio in its 'aspect 
superbe,' of a cart and two great sleepy, mild-eyed, dun- 
coloured oxen, of women and babies, who also lingered on 
the quay, enjoying the coolness and rest. Some few sailors 
and sous-ojfjficiers gathered round, and pleasant-spoken 
peasants, who criticised the drawings and politely ex- 
pressed their pleasure over the sketch-books ; but gradu- 
ally a plague of small boys began to darken the air : first 
one or two, like the scouts of the mosquitoes, hovered 
near, then, growing bolder, they signalled to their fellows, 
and the gnats began to swarm. They were tolerably re- 
spectful at first, keeping at a moderate distance, and acting 
almost as a garde rfhonneur, conducting the ladies to the 
Mole, where they lingered rejoicing in the great waves that 




Standing a\ i>ay 




V^^^S 



Defying fhe. MifiJa-^ 



Onega 



A TALE OF THE ROAD. 295 

dashed against the narrow wall, bringing a gusty smell of 
the sea, and flinging a pleasant briny spray upon their 
faces. But the ragazzi of Oneglia were unable to com- 
prehend the enjoyment of the English in standing to be 
wetted with salt water, and evidently believed they must 
have some secret reason for their excursion on the Mole, 
that, if known, would prove to be of vast interest. The 
impression spread that something must come of it, and 
more boys arrived each moment, till the ' following ' 
became somewhat troublesome. The youngest traveller 
enquired, in her choicest Italian, whether they had never, 
on any previous occasion, encountered wild or unknown 
animals, to which the most intelligent of the mob gravely 
replied, c Signorina, never.' Four of the boys went in 
front, the mob always keeping the necessary space clear, 
and executed somersaults in the hope of extracting sous, 
and about sixty constituted themselves a body-guard. It 
was impossible to disperse them, and as fresh arrivals 
swelled the numbers every moment, and none of them 
really knew what they were looking at, they took to 
cheering as a lively exercise, which they seemed to find 
so beneficial that the performance was unanimously pro- 
longed. 

The ladies having vainly requested to be left in peace, 
walked in dignified contempt, three abreast, towards the 
shelter of the hotel, afraid to laugh, and disdaining to run, 
and were conducted to the very door amidst ironical vivas ! 



296 A TALE OF THE ROAD. 

About one hundred and fifty boys and girls immediately 
took up a position in the narrow street beneath the win- 
dows, from which safe elevation their victims placidly 
regarded them ; but the officials of the hotel, considering 
the demonstration a little too popular, rushed to disperse 
the mob. An active waiter, armed with a napkin and a 
large carriage-whip, did his best ; but the incorrigible little 
animals retreated for the moment, only to take up a more 
secure position the next. Then the military were called 
out, and one infantry soldier gesticulated and shrieked at 
the boys, who made faces at him in return, till seizing his 
sword (in its sheath), with both hands he made a desperate 
charge, and the mothers at that moment coming to his 
assistance, turned the enemy by a flank movement. A 
small creature was captured, and chastized then and there, 
and a general stampede followed. One persistent girl 
with a big baby alone held her ground, and I think we 
may consider it was a drawn battle between her and the 
military. 

We were early the next morning, breakfasting at seven, 
and making a good start before any of our companions of 
the road were moving. Our stage was to be a longer one 
than usual, and we were all in good heart for the work. 
The weather was glorious, the colouring of sea and distant 
hills radiantly beautiful in its varying tintings of green and 
blue, pink and violet, with snowy summits rising at times 
over the nearer ranges on our left, and Genoa with its 



A TALE OF THE ROAD. 297 

forts and lighthouse growing ever more and more distinct 
out of the purple and grey haze that shaped itself into 
far-away hills resting on the water. 

Our road led, by a gradual climb, and then by a steep 
descent, sometimes steady, sometimes precipitous, along 
the edge of the rock. Always, nearer or farther below 
us, the waves fretted against the stones, and here and 
there a landslip showed where the road had given way, 
or it turned suddenly, almost at an acute angle, and one 
could look down an infinite depth with no foreground of 
protecting wall or fence to break the view ! 

As we were quietly walking up a long hill, a dis- 
tant sound came to us which acted magically on our 
cocker, a noise of horses' feet and of one driving fu- 
riously. Bassetti drew his reins together, stood up in his 
seat, and gave one long anxious look behind ; then shook 
his ribbons eagerly, cried in an agony of appeal to his 
horses, and settled down to his work. The good beasts 
perfectly understood his feelings, which was more than 
we did at the moment, and rose to the occasion ; there 
was no hanging back about any of them, in three minutes 
they had gained the top of the hill, and were going down 
the slope as fast as they could lay legs to the ground ; 
and there round a corner, almost on top of us, came 
the great black and yellow diligence, and we understood 
it all, with a half shiver of terror: for these southern 
fellows are utterly reckless when their passions are 



298 A TALE OF THE ROAD. 

roused, and between Carlo and the diligence driver it was 
combat a outrance. Knowing it was useless to remon- 
strate, and dangerous even to speak, our father held his 
peace and waited, and the other occupant of the coupe 
confesses to a quiver of alarm, and an anxious watching 
of each fresh piece of road that came into view, for at the 
headlong speed at which we were going, it would have 
been utterly impossible to have pulled up the horses sud- 
denly, and had we encountered any great waggons on the 
road, or other cart or carriage, there must have been a 
horrible smash, and the big diligence would have fallen 
on top of us ! It was certainly a mad gallop, down hill 
on such a road, at the rate of fifteen miles an hour, but 
it was a wonderful sight to see ! The way our cocker 
turned the corners, thundering down the slopes, one 
wheel almost on its side as we edged round a sharp rock, 
the carriage swaying as though it must topple over, the 
wheels spinning over the stones and the great whip 
cracking and whistling to the echoes, the thud thud of 
the pursuing feet, the wind that blew against us, the 
danger that gave an edge to our enjoyment, the terror 
of what was coming, and the pleasure in our success, 
made that half-hour on the Corniche a bit of travel- 
ling experience not soon to be forgotten ! It is an un- 
certain way of seeing the shores of the Mediterranean, 
but that race was to us a combination of delights one 
does not often secure in this matter-of-fact world, and I 




/ 



0t> }U T0S( J a.«~. a ' ln ; 



A TALE OF THE ROAD. 299 

only hope the travellers in the diligence enjoyed it as 
heartily. Of the feelings of their driver we know nothing, 
as of course we won in a canter when we once reached 
the level, and dashing through the little town of Lanona, 
where his stage ended, we left our rivals far behind. 

I must not linger to describe one midday halt, and the 
queer cookery that accompanied it, or our more steady- 
going progress during the afternoon, towards Savona with 
its pleasant hotel and flowery garden, and the broad quays 
where vessels are filling and unloading all day long, and 
piles of lemons, bags of corn, and crates of bottles and 
earthenware crowd the pavement ; of the moon, very faint 
and young as yet, that shone upon the sea ; of our drive 
to Pegli through a southern land of rich cultivation, 
vines and chestnuts, lemon and orange orchards, and other 
green things pleasant to the eyes and good for food ; of 
the blind beggars who always saw the exact number of 
people there were to beg from, and who appealed to each ; 
of the beggar with one arm, who had a second gracefully 
but partially concealed by a piece of drapery ; of more 
fishing villages, and of people going and coming throng- 
ingly upon the road as we neared Grenoa. 

There is little space left in which to tell of our visit 
to the Villa Palavacini, whose princely owner makes 
strangers welcome ; where, in the language of the ancient 
poets, ' nature and art go hand in hand,' and where accord- 
ingly there are all the sweetest flowers that ever bloom 



300 A TALE OF THE ROAD. 

in the sunshine, classical temples, fountains, Chinese 
pagodas, stalactite caves, a lake, islands, temples, a swing, 
secret jets d'eaw that play upon the unwary, a merry- 
go-round with a wooden pony for the Marchese, and a 
char a banc for the Marchesa, and three more steeds, and 
three more carriages, for the Palavacini guests ; a mag- 
nificent palace; and a terrace, standing on which one 
looks across at Grenoa as she lies with her fair arms out- 
stretched, smiling at the sea. 

There is no time to tell of the dusty way that led to 
her, or how we passed under the guarded gateway and 
trotted merrily through the streets; how we paused in 
the Piazza della Annunziata and had our leaders taken 
off, the angles of Genoese streets being somewhat sharper 
even than those of the Corniche, and their width about 
three yards across ; how in a dark alley we did in a 
manner come to grief, and make an ignominious end of 
our triumphant progress, for at the very corner of the 
Albergo Keale the near horse slipped and stumbled, and in 
its fall knocked over its companion ; how we looked down 
on the debris from our vast elevation, descending at length 
literally into the arms of the Genoese ; how the good steeds 
picked themselves up again, and were none the worse, but 
ready as ever for a fresh scamper on the old road, where 
we would hope many of our countrymen may be fortunate 
enough to fall in with those five clever little horses, and 
our worthy Carlo Bassetti of Arona. 



MOUNTAINEEBING IN TYEOL. 



APPENDIX, 



APPENDIX. 



MOUNTAINEERING IN TYEOL. 



TTAVINGr obtained a tolerably complete knowledge of 
•"- Tyrol during five consecutive visits to different parts 
of that country, in 1863-4-5-6-7, and being inclined to 
think that the exquisite beauty of its scenery, and the 
very moderate cost of travel will lead to its being visited 
every year by an increasing number of our countrymen, 
I venture to offer, for the information of other moun- 
taineers, a sketch of an eight weeks' tour which I believe 
will be found to embrace the chief objects of interest 
throughout the principal mountain groups. I assume 
that the Tyrol is entered at Landeck in the upper Inn 
Thai, which may be reached via the Vorarlberg either 
from Zurich or Constance, in about three days from 
London ; whilst in returning from Bormio a great variety 
of interesting routes offer themselves to the traveller's 
choice. 

1. Thursday. From Landeck by the Finstermiinz Pass to 
(a) Eeschen and the highest available quarters in the Langtau- 
ferer Thai, or (b) to Mais and the chalets at the head of the 
Matscher Thai. 



304 MOUNTAINEERING IN TYROL. 

2. To Vent (or Fend) in the Oetzthal by (a) the Langtau- 
ferer Joch, or (b) the Matscher (Hintereis) Joch, ascending, in 
the first case, the Langtauferer Spitz, and, in the second, the 
Weisskugel en route. 

3. Ascend the Wildspitz. 

*4. At Vent, and stroll down to Solden in the afternoon. 

5. By the Winacher Thai and Pfaffen Ferner to the summit 
of the Schneide or Zuckerhiitl, and then by the Pfaffen Joch and 
Sulzenau Glacier to Graba and Neustift in the Stubay Thai, 
whence Schonberg and perhaps Innsbruck may be reached the 
same night. 

6. To, and at Innsbruck. 

7. At Innsbruck, and by rail to Jenbach, and voiture to Zell 
in the Ziller Thai. 

8. Drive to Mayrhofen, and thence proceed up the Zemm 
and Zamser Thai to the chalets at the entrance of the Horpinger 
Thai. 

9. Ascend the Hoch Mosele Spitz, and proceed by the Mosele 
Ferner and Muhlwalder Thai to Taufers ; thence drive up the 
Ahren Thai to Steinhaus, or farther if time will permit. 

10. By the Vord, or Hint Thorl, to Pregraten in the Virgen 
Thai. 

*11. At Pregraten, and thence by the Dorfer Thai to the 
Johanns Hiitte near the foot of the Dorfer Kees. 

12. Ascend the Gross Venediger, and descend by the Unter- 
sulzbach Kees and Thai to Neukirchen in the Pinzgau ; thence 
drive to Mittersill. 

13. Drive to Zell-am-See and Saalfelden (a) or Frohnwies (b). 

14. Cross (a) the Steinernes Meer to Konigssee and Berchtes- 
gaden, or (b) proceed to the same place by the HirschbiAhel Pass 
and Ramsau. 

15. At Berchtesgaden. 



MOUNTAINEERING IN TYROL. 305 

16. Ascend the Jenner Spitz ; cross the Torrener Joch to Gol- 
ling ; and thence drive to Salzburg via Hallein. 

17. Drive to Ischl via St. Gilgen and the Wolfgang See, or 
quit the carriage at St. Gilgen and ascend the Schafberg to sleep, 
proceeding to Ischl the next morning. 

*18. At Ischl. 

19. Descend the Traun by boat to Ebensee, and then take the 
steamer to Gmunden on the Traun See, returning in the same way, 
or by carriage to Ebensee, and driving back to Ischl, whence Alt- 
Aussee may be reached by voiture the same evening via Laufen. 

20. Visit Aussee and the Grundl See, and then proceed to 
Hallstadt via Ober Traun and the Hallstadter See. 

21. Visit the Eudolfsthurm, and returning to the village, pro- 
ceed to the Wiesen Alp (Almhiitte) to sleep. 

22. Ascend the Dachstein and descend {a) by the Hoch 
Gjaidstein Joch and Schladminger Kees to Eamsau and Schlad- 
ming in the Enns Thai, or (b) to Hinter Gosau. 

23. Drive (a) to Eadstadt, St. Johann (im Pongau), and Lend ; 
or (b) over Pass Gschiitt to Abtenau and Golling, and thence to 
Werfen, St. Johann, and Lend, if time permits. 

24. To Wildbad Gastein, per voiture in either case. 
*25. At Wildbad Gastein. 

26. Cross the Stanzer Scharte to Bucheben in the Eauriser 
Thai, and then the Schutterriedl to St. Wolfgang and Ferleiten 
in the Fusch Thai. 

27. Cross (a) the Pfandl Scharte, or (b) the Bockkar Scharte, 
to Heiligenblut in the Moll Thai, in the latter case ascending the 
Breit Kopf. The first is the easier, but the second is by far the 
finer route. 

28. At Heiligenblut, and to the Leiter Hiitte to sleep. 

29. Ascend the Gross Glockner, descend to Kals, and proceed- 
ing to Huben, drive thence to Lienz. 



306 MOUNTAINEERING IN TYROL. 

30. Drive to Sillian and Inichen, and over the Ampezzo Pass 
to Cortina and S. Yito. 

31. Ascend the Antelao via the Forcella Piccola, and return- 
ing to the Pass descend by the Val Oten to Calalzo and Pieve di 
Cadore or Tai. 

*32. At Cadore or Tai, and in the afternoon to Forno di Zoldo 
in Val di Zoldo. 

33. Cross Passo Coldai (ascending Monte Civita en route ?) to 
Alleghe and Caprile. 

34. Visit the gorge of Sottoguda in Val Pettorina, and then, 
crossing due S. to Forno di Canale by a pass between Monte 
Pezza and Monte Alto, proceed up the valley to Gares. 

35. Ascend the Palle di S. Martino (if possible) or Cimon 
dell a Pala by the Valle delle Comelle, and returning to Gares, 
cross the Gesurette Pass to the Valle di S. Lucano and Agordo. 

36. To Caprile up the Cordevole Valley via Cencenighe and the 
Lago d' Alleghe, and thence on to Pieve by the Livinallongo Thai. 

37. Cross via the summit of the Monte Prelungei (Zissa Berg ?) 
to Corfara in the Gader Thai, and from thence proceed up the 
valley to the Grodner Jbchl, and, skirting the head of the Grodner 
Thai, traverse the Sella Pass to Campidello in Val Fassa (Fleim- 
ser Thai). Ascend the valley to Alba or Penia, or even some 
higher sleeping-quarters if time permits. 

38. Ascend the Marmolata and return to Campidello. 
*39. At Campidello. 

40. Via the Duron Pass and over the summit of the Schlern to 
Bad Ratzes. Thence via Vols to Steg in the Eisack Thai, and 
to Botzen per voiture. 

41. At Botzen, and per rail to Trent and Eoveredo, and thence 
to Riva at the head of the Lago di Garda per voiture. 

42. Drive up the Val di Sarca to Alle Sarche, and thence walk 
to Molveno. 



MOUNTAINEERING IN TTEOL. 307 

43. Cross by the Bocca di Brenta (ascending the Cima Tosa 
on the •way), to Pinzolo in Val Eendena. 

44. At Pinzolo and to the Bedole Malga in Val di Genova. 

45. Ascend the Adamello and return (a) to the Bedole chalet, 
or (b) to Pinzolo. 

*46. At (a) the Bedole Alp or (b) Pinzolo; in the latter case 
proceeding in the evening to the Nardis Alp to sleep. 

47. Proceed (a) to the summit of the Cercen Pass, thence 
ascend the Presanella, and returning to the col drop down 
on the N. side to Vermiglio, Fosine, and the Bagni di Pejo, 
in Yal di Sole. Or (h) ascend the Presanella from the Nardis 
Alp by the Glacier of the same name, and descending by the 
opposite arete upon the Cercen Pass, proceed thence as already 
suggested (a). 

48. By Yal del Monte and the Glacier at the head of the Val 
Piana (or Val Umbrina ?) to the ridge running S.W. from the 
Pizzo della Mare, ascend the latter, and returning to the col, 
traverse the neve of the Gavia Glacier to the summit of the 
Pizzo Tresero, whence Sta Catarina may be reached very directly 
via the Tresero Alp. 

49. At Sta Catarina. 

50. At Sta Catarina ; ascend Monte Confinale. 

51. Cross the Passo di Forno to the highest chalets in the Val 
della Mare, perhaps ascending the Vios, or Viozzi, Spitz en route. 

52. By the Glacier of La Mare to the saddle between the two 
highest summits of the Monte Cevedale or Fiirkeli (the Zufall 
Spitz of the maps of Lombardy and Tyrol), ascend the latter, 
and dropping down in a N. direction upon the Cevedale Pass, 
and skirting the head of the Langenferner (which descends into 
the Martell Thai) to the Janiger Scharte, traverse the latter to 
Gampenhbfe and St. Gertrud in the Sulden Thai via the Sulden 
Glacier. 



308 MOUNTAINEERING IN TYROL. 

*53. At St. Gertrud. 

54. Ascend the Orteler Spitz and descend by the Trafoi route 
to Trafoi. 

55. At Trafoi ; drive to Gomagoi in the afternoon, and stroll 
up the Sulden Thai to St. Gertrud and Gampenhofe. 

56. Cross the Pass between the Orteler Spitz and Klein Zebru, 
ascend the latter, and then proceeding to the Orteler Joch, tra- 
verse the Unterer Trafoiferner to the Heiligen Drei Brunnen and 
Trafoi (via the ' Bergl ' ?), or, keeping away to the left, cross the 
lower portion of the Ober Trafoiferner and gain the Stelvio road 
by the slopes of the Madatsch Spitz. 

57. Cross the Stelvio to Bormio per voiture or on foot, and if 
desired, Tirano may easily be reached the same night, and Lon- 
don in four or five days, either via Chiavenna and the Spliigen, 
or by the Bernina, St. Moritz, and the Julier or Albula, to Chur 
and Zurich. 



The following suggestions on the subject of maps, guide- 
books, and guides, in connection with the foregoing route, 
may be found serviceable. 

MAPS. 

For Tyrol in general. 

1. Mayr's ' Karte von Tirol.' Munich; or, 

2. Mayr's 'Atlas der Alpenlander,' sheets 2, 3, 5, and perhaps 6. 

For days 1-4. 

3. ' Special Karte der Oetzthaler Alpen,' by K. von Sonklar 

and H. Berghaus. Gotha, Perthes. 



MOUNTAINEERING IN TYROL. 309 

For clays 5 and 6. 

4. < Special Karte der Stubaier Gebirgsgruppe,' by L. Pfaundler. 

Innsbruck, Wagner. 

Or (less detailed) for days 1-6. 

5. 'General Quartiermeister-Stab, Karte der gefursteten Graf- 

schaft Tirol etc.,' T 4 4V00 » sheets 7 and 8. 

For days 7-12. 

The same, sheet 9. 

For days 12-16. 

Mayr 1 or 2 will probably suffice. 

For days 17-26. 
The same. 

Or for days 17-22. 

6. ' Special Karte des Salzkammergutes,' by J. J. Pauliny, 

T4 40 ' Vienna, Lechner. 

For days 27-29. 

7. The map of the neighbourhood of the Gross Glockner, by 

Keil, appended to Dr. von Ruthner's ' Aus der Tauern,' 
is by far the best. 

For days 30-36. 

Mayr 1 or 2 ; or 

8. ' Topographische Karte des Lombardisch-Venetianischen Ko- 

nigreichs,' -goioo- Milan, 1833-8. Sheets F. 1 and 2. 

For days 37-41. 

Mayr 1 or 2 will probably suffice. 

For days 42-48. 

No. 5, sheets 16 and 19, for general purposes, and, for 
details of 44-47, 



310 MOUNTAINEERING IN TYROL. 

9. 'Die Adamello-Presanella Alpen,' by J. Payer, -^5^^. 
Gotha, Perthes. (Appended to a paper by Lieutenant 
Payer in Petermann's ' Mittheilungen ; ' Erganzungsheft, 
No. 17. November 1865. Gotha, Perthes.) 
For days 48-51. 

No. 8, sheets D. 1 and 2, and 

10. A map accompanying a paper by F. F. Tuckett in the 'Al- 

pine Journal' for December 1864 (vol. i. p. 384), with 
corrections in the number for September 1865 (vol. ii. 
pp. 145-7), and that for September 1866 (vol. ii. pp. 
352-7). 

For days 51-57. 

No. 5, sheet 16, together with 

11. The map accompanying < Die Ortler Alpen (Sulden Gebiet 

und Monte Cevedale),' and 'Die westlichen Ortler- Alpen 
(Trafoier Gebiet),' by Lieutenant J. Payer. Peter- 
mann's ' Mittheilungen,' Erganzungsheft, No. 18 and 
23, 1867-8. Gotha, Perthes. 

GUIDE-BOOKS, ETC. 

Murray's ' Southern Germany.' 

„ ' Knapsack Guide to Tyrol.' 

Schaubach's ' Deutschen Alpen,' 2nd edition. Jena, From- 

mann. Vol. iii. (Salzburg, Salzkammergut, &c). Vol. iv. 

(Central and Southern Tyrol). 
' The Dolomite Mountains,' by Messrs. Gilbert and Churchill 

(a most charming book). Longmans & Co. 
' Guide to the Central Alps,' by J. Ball. 
1 Guide to the Eastern Alps,' by J. Ball. 
1 Jahrbuch des Oesterreichischen Alpine-Vereines' (five 

volumes of which have already been published). 



MOUNTAINEERING IN TYROL. 311 

The Alpine Journal ' (of which three volumes have appeared) 
also contains scattered papers and notices on various por- 
tions of the Austrian Alps. 

GUIDES. 

1. Matscher Thai. The Jager at Matsch. 

2. Langtauferer Thai. Bias in Mallag. 

3. Yent (Oetzthal). Cyprian Granbichler. 

4. Mavrhofen (Ziller-Thal). Forster Hochleitner ; also Samer 

(vulgb Josele) at Ginzling, and Bartl and Jackl, either 
there or at Breitlechner. 

5. Pregraten (Virgen Thai). The Brothers Steiner, and the 

smith of Pregraten. 

6. Berchtesgaden. Josef Grafl and his brothers, &c. 

7. Hallstadt. Wallner, Loydl, Stocker, and Zauner. 

8. Fusch. Anton Hiitter. 

9. Heiligenblut. Wallner, B. and C. Lackner, Breimisch, Veit 

Bauerle, Granegger, Eder. 

10. S. Vito. The Cacciatore Ossi. 

11. Caprile. Pellegrino Pellegrini of Rocca, and for the Mar- 

molata the brothers Dimaj of Ampezzo. 

12. Campidello(ValFassa). J. B. Bernard, « Waldaufseher.' 

13. Molveno. Bonifazio Nicolosi. 

14. Pinzolo. Forster Suda (?). 

15. Cogolo. Binder, Framba, and Domenico Venere. 

16. Sulden Thai. Pinggera of Sulden, or Janiger of Maria 

Schmelz in the IMartell Thai. 



u 2 



312 MOUNTAINEERING IN TYROL. 

Our route of 1866 is given below under the idea that it 
may prove useful to some inexperienced travellers who 
wish to explore those parts of Tyrol that are easily acces- 
sible and well adapted for ladies. It might be condensed 
in many ways and with advantage, as in our case it had 
to be modified from time to time to suit the weather and 
the mountaineering plans of some of the party. 

1. Paris to Basle. 

2. Basle to Schaffhausen. 

3. iScliaffhausen to Constance and Lindau, and thence to Im- 

menstadt by rail and to Hindelang by carriage. 

4. Hindelang to Lermos by carriage. 

5. Lermos to Nassereit and Innsbruck by carriage. Hotel 

d'Autriche, excellent. 
6-7. At Innsbruck. 

8. By rail to Worgl, thence post to Waidring. 

9. Waidring to Lofer, Keichenhall, and Berchtesgaden by car- 

riage. Hotel zum Watzmann, good. 

10. To Kbnigs-See and back, &c. 

11. To Salzburg by carriage. Hotel Nelhok, very good. 

12. To Ischl by carriage. Hotel Goldenes Kreuz, excellent. 

13. At Ischl. Excursionized. 

14. At Ischl. 

15. To Aussee and its lakes, by carriage. 

16. To Hallstadt and return to Ischl. This is an easy excursion 

to and from Ischl direct. 

17. To Ebensee and Gmunden, to and from Ischl by carriage, or 

boat down the Traun. 

18. From Ischl to Salzburg. The Schafberg, 5,703 feet, may be 

ascended en route ; the view is very line, and there is an 
inn on the summit. 



MOUNTAINEERING IN TYROL. 313 

19. To Berchtesgaden by carriage. 

20, 21, 22. At Berchtesgaden and to the Konigs-See and Wildbach 

Klamm ; a wonderful cascade under the rocks. 

23. From Berchtesgaden toZell am See by carriage, 12 hours over 

Hirschbiihel Pass. 

24. To Krirnml, carriage, 12 hours including halts. 

25. Krirnml, inn rough but clean, to Gerlos on horseback, 4 hours ; 

on to Zell in Ziller-Thal in bergwagen, 4 hours. 

26. At Zell and to Karlsteg and back, carriage and horseback. 

27. From Zell to Jenbach by carriage, and rail to Innsbruck. 

28. At Innsbruck. 

29. Innsbruck to Zirl, Telfs, and Imst, carriage, 11-J hours. 

30. Imst to Landeck and Finstermiinz, 12 hours, carriage. 

31. Hof Finstermiinz to Nauders and Zernetz, 12 hours by 

carriage. 

32. To Pontresina by carriage. 

33. At Pontresina, Gredig's hotel, good. 

34. Ditto, and in bergwagen to Sils Maria; good cookery at the 

Alpen Eose. 

35. Ditto. Service at St. Moritz. 

36. Ditto, to the Roseg Glacier. 

37. Ditto, to the top of the Bernina Pass. 

38. Ditto to the Morteratsch Glacier. 

39. Ditto. 

40. Ditto. Ascended the Muoters. 

41. Ditto. 

42. Ditto. Service at St. Moritz. 

43. Ditto. Ascended the Piz Languard. Walther, Flury, and 

Jenni are the principal guides. 

44. To Samaden and over the Julier Pass to Cliur, 12 hours by 

diligence. 

45. Chur to Zurich by rail. 

46. Zurich to Basle and through the night to Paris. 



LONDON: PRINTED BY 

SPOTTISWOODK AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUAT.B 

AND PARLIAMENT STREET 



HOW WE SPENT THE SUMMER 

OR, 

'A VOYAGE EN ZIGZAG' 

WITH SOME MEMBERS OF THE ALPINE CLUB. 



4 The little bits of landscape scenery — the picturesque cottages and chalets — 
the mountain passes and lake cities — are the clever jottings of a master hand. 

Looking at the book as the production of an amateur artist, to call it 

simply clever is not giving it the meed of praise it deserves. . . . . Every page 
shows a full appreciation of the humorous and pathetic' Reader. 

' It consists of a considerable number of clever and spirited little drawings 
rapidly made by a hand of no mean skill.' Athenaeum. 

' A series of very clever and amusing sketches.' Morning Post. 

'Sketches like those of the pretty little "Voyage en Zigzag" ("How we 
Spent the Summer"), published by Longman — which are full of charming 
humour, character, and freshness of expression.' — From the Cestus of Aglaia, 
by J. Rtjskin. Art Journal. 

1 This book is an unmixed delight, except, of course, that it has a last page. 
.... There is no class of tourists to which it does not appeal.' 

Pall Mall Gazette. 



London : LONGMANS and CO. Paternoster Row. 



BEATEN TRACKS; 

OR, 

PEN AND PENCIL SKETCHES IN ITALY. 



' The illustrations are in the same style as those of a former work, full of 
life and fire and spirit, and the letterpress is just the kind of jotting one would 
anticipate from the pen of the author of those clever sketches.' Reader. 

1 The charming pages of the " Beaten Tracks, or Pen and Pencil Sketches in 
Italy " carry us once more along the ever-memorable Corniche, where there are 
no disagreeables, and where a beneficent bien-etre makes the veriest trifle en- 
joyable. Something of course depends on the skill of the writer ; something on 
the pleasant memories of the reader : combined, these give a rare charm to 
letters written about the ordinary incidents of a very well-known tour. With 
pencil as well as pen the traveller vividly recalls the scenes. Her pen is grace- 
ful, her pencil graphic Her letters are real letters, neither marred with 

affectation nor made stilted with false eloquence.' 

Fortnightly Review : Causeries by the Ed. (Lewes). 

' A series of lively, clever sketches, by a lady who is evidently more desirous 
of giving an accurate account of the impressions made upon her by persons, 
places, and other objects, than of conforming to the orthodox canons of Murray. 



Beaten Tracks. 



It is quite a novelty to meet with a tourist who does not in any form of words 
reproduce the guide-books. What they have well described she leaves alone ; 
what has been passed over by them in the realms of art, she notices, not with 
the cant of connoisseurship, but in the fresh natural language of real feeling. 
.... with numerous engravings from clever pen and ink sketches.' 

The Daily News. 

' The book is the best of company for any who are in good holiday mood. 
There are whimsical studies of life, sly dashes of caricature, pleasant recollec- 
tions of old travelling experience, and foreign scenes conjured up by a few 
skilful touches.' The Examiner. 

• The author of " A Voyage en Zigzag" has in this volume sustained her 
reputation as a writer and an artist. The letters of which the volume consists 
are replete with spirited sketches, often amusing, often pathetic, but always 
interesting.' The Morning Post. 

' There are some books we do not wish to see the end of, and among these we 
may surely class one which illustrates how all-essential to a traveller is the 
eye to see — far more than mere novelty of route or country or startling adven- 
ture. Hundreds of English travellers have been over the ground before, yet 
this quick-eyed lady, with a turn for charming expression, has managed to tell 
a great deal that is new to most concerning these beaten tracks, and to throw 
such a charm of her own personality into her tale of what is old, that few more 
genial or pleasant volumes could be found.' The Globe. 

1 A stirring time in Italy provided good material for the keen powers of ob- 
servation and the pleasant pen, now of D. and now of E The present 

state of Florence is graphically described in this very pleasant and entertaining 
book.' Pall Mall Gazette. 

' A pretty, pleasant, sparkling book, sketched by the wayside, and devoted 
chiefly to flowers, sunshine, gossip, pictures, and scenery.' 

The London Review. 

' " Beaten Tracks " is a truly charming book.' Court Journal. 

' A bright, cheerful, and amusing series of letters describing a tour made 

through France and Lombardy The volume is profusely illustrated by 

a number of facile etchings ; they are in excellent harmony with the letters 
themselves, and display exactly that more than average accomplishment which 
speaks in every page of them. The whole correspondence is singularly natural 
and unpretending.' Westminster Review. 

' A charming book Sketches of rare pungency and spirit. Were 

these drawings the work of a professional artist, they would deserve high 
praise ;" as the wayside studies of two English girls they are very remarkable. 
. . ... The book is written with no affectation or pretence.' 

Manchester Guardian. 

■ A very entertaining book.' Illustrated London News. 

1 " Beaten Tracks," both in its writing, and its very clever fac-similes from 

the sketch ers' rough memoranda, is a very good book of its kind It is 

full of observation of the characteristic facts and sights which strike an 
Englishman in the most frequented foreign scenes, and by pen and pencil 
recalls them in their real appearances.' Guardian. 



London: LONGMANS and CO. Paternoster Row. 



PICTURES IN TYROL 

AND ELSEWHERE. 



' A witty and agreeable volume We are rather glad of any 

opportunity of meeting our old friend the author of " A Voyage en Zigzag." 
And here we have the same racy pencil, with the charming piquant studies of 
the Anglais, giving himself up to every conceivable and inconceivable form of 
independent adventure on mountain and pass, relieved by clear and sparkling 
sketches of the maimers and customs of the barbarous folk who dwell on the 
Continent of Europe, which bring to shame the puppet writer of travels.' 

Saturday Review. 

4 The book which has decoyed us in imagination from the cold wintry slush 
of England to the crisp and sunny snow of the Tyrol mountains, is interesting 
and amusing. The pictures are a marked improvement on those in the " Voy- 
age en Zigzag," although the latter certainly contained some charming and 
suggestive sketches. ... It is very pleasant to journey with the travellers 
through their cheerful encounterings of all that can be called drawbacks.' 

Pall Mall Gazette. 

1 A thoroughly delightful book. Telling simply and vividly what she has 
seen, the clever authoress furnishes pictures in writing, to which her graceful 
sketches, sometimes humorous and always natural, are a welcome supplement.' 

The Examinee. 

' A very charming book is this. It is full of interesting information, abun- 
dantly supplied with pleasing pictures of life and well furnished with incident. 
The illustrations are remarkably good — slight, sketchy, and suggestive. Among 
readable books at this genial season, " Pictures in Tyrol " will be pre-eminent.' 

The Globe. 

' A capital book.' Morning Star. 

1 An almost unique book It is impossible to tell in such space as is 

here at command how very charming is this book, which is illustrated by sixty 
pages of sketches transferred apparently line by line from the leaves in which 
they were first pencilled. Humorous and picturesque, artistic though erude, 
these lithographs convey a better idea of the Tyrol, its tourists, and its inhabi- 
tants, than many volumes which pretend to more finish in their plates. We do 
not know whether the artist can paint, but he certainly can draw.' 

The Standard. 

' All who remember the graceful and womanly account of Italian travel, 
" Beaten Tracks," will be glad to meet the authoress again on Tyrolese ground. 
.... The unaffected good taste with which her party fraternised with the 
simple German peasantry, not only gives a delightful tone to her journal, but 
reveals to those who can appreciate it, the true secret of enjoyment on such 

tours The same facile pencil that lent such a charm to its predecessor, 

has filled the book with wayside sketches and cheerful incidents of travel.' 

Westminster Review. 



Pictures in Tyrol and Elsewhere. 



1 The book before us is a rare specimen of excellence in the mystery of story- 
telling Altogether it is one of the most pleasant -volumes we have had 

to deal with for a long time past. It is agreeable in its style, beautifully 
simple, and extremely picturesque. The drawings are exceedingly good, and 
very tastefully selected. They are just the sort of sketches which would be 
made by a talented amateur, afford graphic illustrations of the scenes they 
depict, and are very cleverly executed.' 

The Press and St. James's Chronicle. 

'A volume as charming as it is novel.' The Lady's Newspaper. 

' This is a collection of trivial remarks and mild descriptions of incidents and 
scenes such as everybody meets in Austrian Tyrol and its neighbourhood. It is 
not so useful as a guide-book, and, being trivial, is very hard to read. Numerous 
little sketches of very unequal value accompany the text ; like it, they may 
interest the travellers whose adventures are described, but few others.' 

Athenjeum. 

• This is a very pleasant book — pleasant to read — but exceedingly so to 
those who examine the many sketchy pictures it contains. They are slight 
etchings, full of character, with a good mixture of fun, with occasional glimpses 
of quaint buildings and magnificent scenery. No. doubt an " Amateur " has 
produced them, but they are capital examples of art, well applied, for they 
not only gratify but interest. A most agreeable fellow-traveller the author 
and artist must have been ; with close and sound yet generous observation, 
obviously always in good humour with all he heard and saw, never snarling or 
sneering with either pencil or pen.' The Art Journal. 

• The book abounds in picturesque and life-like sketches of Alpine scenery 
and of German and Italian towns, and contains the record of many amusing 
adventures in out-of-the-way places, told in an easy and agreeable style, 
flavoured with a deal of humour.' Daily News. 

' One of the reader's pleasantest excursions was that made in company with 
the travellers " en Zigzag," and another opportunity of the same kind is sure to 
be accepted with delight. " In Tyrol and Elsewhere," the writer of those 
charming descriptive chapters, the artist who drew those matchless sketches, so 
full of truth, humour, fun, and freshness, must be the most acceptable of com- 
panions. This volume is only superior to its predecessor inasmuch as there is 
more of it.' Contemporary Review. 

' This book is the very beau ideal of a tourist's companion.' The Orb. 

' The work under notice is a worthy successor of the " Voyage en Zigzag " 
and " Beaten Tracks," displaying equally with them great capacity of observa- 
tion—not only of that which is remarkable but of that which is commonplace 
— descriptive powers of a high order, an artistic appreciation of the beautiful 
and picturesque, and a general sympathy with the excellence that is to be 
found in humble life. The style is easy, graceful, and winning, and the sketches 
clever and spirited.' Morning Post. 

London: LONGMANS and CO. Paternoster Bow. 



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